The crow and the butterfly
by nekoangel1988
Summary: ItaNaru Without a thought for himself, Naruto makes a decision that saves his teammate but ends his career as a ninja, and Naruto is left alone to figure out exactly where he fits in his new world. Then a false accusation is made against Naruto leaving the villagers angry and demanding retribution. The Hokage has no choice but to give an order that will change Naruto's life.
1. Chapter 1

The Crow and The Butterfly

Chapter One

A thirteen year old Itachi Uchiha stood in front of the Third Hokage. He had the feeling that he knew why he'd been called to the Hokage's office. It wasn't for any reason that he liked, he knew that his family were planning on rebelling against the Leaf Village for how their clan was treated. Itachi , couldn't say that he agreed with the Hokage's decision after the nine tailed demon had attacked the village, leaving hundreds of people dead and even more injured. Itachi supposed that it had to with what his clan had been plotting for the village. Itachi didn't believe his clan should be taking things into their own hands, but neither did he believe that they needed to be dealt with in a harsh manner. Just because the Council didn't trust the Uchiha's, it didn't mean that they should have been forced to move out on the outer edge of the village. His clan deserved more respect than they were being given so Itachi could understand his father's anger. He could also understand why the village didn't trust the Uchiha's after what had happened with the Nine tailed demon. The Uchiha after all the Uchiha were the only ones who could completely control the demon.

"Do you understand what I'm saying?" the Third Hokage asked and Itachi nodded even though he hadn't been listening to what the man had been talking about. He had the feeling that he really wasn't going to like what the Hokage wanted him to do.

"You believe that our clan is responsible for bringing the nine tailed demon to the village." Itachi said stiffly.

"The council is right in saying that only the Uchiha are the only ones that can bring the tailed beast here and control it." The Hokage said. "I also know that they are plotting something against the village. It's my job to keep the village safe, against all threats, inside and outside of the village."

"I understand that." Itachi replied.

"Then you understand that what I'm going to have you do isn't going to be easy, not for you in any case." Sarutobi told him. Itachi nodded.

"For the sake of the village I will do whatever it is that you want me to do, no matter what the task is." Itachi replied.

"This might not be easy for you to here, but something has to be done about your clan. We can't have them rising up to destroy the village, which is why I'm taking Danzo's advice and having you eliminate the clan." Sarutobi said. Itachi swallowed hard, and nodded, he didn't like it but he understood that it was necessary in order to protect the village.

"What's going to happen to Naruto if you don't mind my asking?" Itachi asked. He's been a guardian from the shadows for the last year or so, he saw how badly the villagers treated the small boy even though Naruto didn't have anything to do with the nine tails attacking Konoha. He'd barely been born after all, but the Fourth Hokage had deemed it necessary to seal the demon within his newborn son, and had in so doing lost his life. Leaving his newborn son in a world that would only hate him for what had happened to the village.

"Naruto is going to be taken care of." Sarutobi said quietly. "I'll make sure of it."

"The villager's don't treat him well." Itachi said. "He gets beaten up on a regular basis. I would like for that to come to an end. He deserves to be treated like a real person. I'm sure that's what his father would want as well."

"I promise Naruto is going to be okay. The villagers will be dealt with." Sarutobi replied. "You don't have to worry about him."

"What about my little brother? Sasuke is innocent of knowing what the clan is plotting." Itachi asked. "He doesn't deserve to die for their plans." He really didn't want to bring harm to his brother, Sasuke didn't deserve it. He was untainted by the cruel, harsh world that they lived in. He shouldn't have to pay for a crime that he wasn't part of.

"He's a part of the clan." Sarutobi said quietly. "We can't have any survivors, even you will have to leave the village and live the life of a rogue ninja."

"Sasuke deserves better." Itachi said bitterly, hating more than anything the violence in the world. "He's truly innocent, maybe if you allow him to live you can mold him into a ninja that can accomplish great things. Maybe he will grow up to love and protect the village. He is an Uchiha, he's bound to be a talented ninja. He doesn't have to die for what our family was plotting."

"You make a good point." Sarutobi said thoughtfully. "Perhaps he can be of use. I'll have to give the matter some thought, even if we did do that you wouldn't be able to see him."

"I would rather my brother be alive, then paying for a crime that he had no part in." Itachi replied. "Maybe he can change the ninja world and all of the violence."

"I promise we'll figure something out." Sarutobi said. "There are no more chances for your clan however."

"I understand that." Itachi replied. "I'm not here to debate their innocence with you. I'm a weapon of the village, but I can't harm my brother."

"Thirteen years old and already a deadly weapon." Sarutobi said. "You have a bright future ahead of you."

"A future where I'm a rogue ninja." Itachi said. "If that brings peace to the village than I am willing to do it. I'll do whatever it takes to make this village a safe place for the younger generation."

"At least your willing to do what it takes to cleanse the village of the filth threatening to invade." A voice spoke from a dark corner of the room, Itachi turned and watched as Danzo stepped out of the shadows. "It's a shame that you have to be a rogue ninja and hunted down like an animal though. I'm sure we could have some better uses for you."

"If this is going to happen." Sarutobi said. "It's going to happen the way that I want it too." Itachi nodded towards Sarutobi, he had no issue with doing things the way that Sarutobi wanted him to, but this new man Itachi wasn't sure about. There was something dark about the man's very soul, and it set Itachi on edge. He'd never disliked anyone instantly before, but there was just something dangerous about Danzo that Itachi didn't like. He didn't know if Danzo was pulling the strings behind his families annihilation but something told him that Sarutobi didn't come up with this plan on his own. Itachi didn't know why, but he knew immediately that Danzo wasn't to be trusted.

"I told you I could handle this." Sarutobi told the older man. "I know how to do my job, I don't need your help."

"I just wanted to come and see if the boy was man enough to do the job." Danzo said, almost sneering the words as he stared at Itachi. "He seems a little young."

"I've been on missions where I've had to kill." Itachi said. Not mentioning that those missions had left him sick to his stomach and more determined to grow stronger so that he could put an end to all fighting.

"That's a little different from killing your own family." Danzo said. "Are you sure that we shouldn't send Hatake? He's talented enough to get the job done and he's not related to them."

"Itachi here will be fine." Sarutobi said. "He's a talented ninja in his own way remember?" Itachi knew exactly what the Hokage was talking about, Itachi had graduated from the Ninja Academy in just one short year and had made Anbu by the time that he was eleven years old. There wasn't a single ninja that had accomplished as much as Itachi had in his short years on earth. Kakashi Hatake was considered a genius as well, but Itachi had already done more than the older man, even though he was much younger.

"I can do the job." Itachi said stiffly. "I don't know why you think that I'm not capable."

"Because you will come to find that killing your own family is going to be much more difficult than you can imagine." Danzo said. "I just want to be a hundred percent certain that you can do it. If you fail, it could mean the end of Konoha."

"I won't let my family turn on Konoha." Itachi replied. "They'll be dealt with. I just want to make sure that Naruto is taken care of, since I won't be able to do it anymore."

"You care about that filthy beast?" Danzo said. "I don't know why anyone cares about the orphaned brat."

"He's the only thing standing between you and total annihilation." Itachi replied. "If he can't control nine tails, this village doesn't stand a chance at survival."

"Perhaps he should be turned against your family then." Danzo said thoughtfully. "I'm sure the seal can be broken."

"You forget my family are the only ones that can control the demon, which is what led to us being in this meeting in the first place." Itachi said. "So breaking the seal wouldn't do anything but kill Naruto. I highly doubt the fourth Hokage would be pleased that his son was used as a weapon." Itachi couldn't stand the idea of Naruto being used in such a way, Naruto was only a few months younger than Itachi's brother Sasuke. Itachi would do anything to keep the kind hearted child alive and well for as long as he could. Which from the looks of it wouldn't be very long. Itachi had hoped that he'd be able to be there to help guide Naruto along the path of being a ninja, but that wasn't going to happen. So Itachi was going to have to depend on the Hokage to make sure that Naruto grew up well.

"Then we won't use the boy." Danzo said. "but I still think it would be a good idea to get rid of him if your not going to turn him into a weapon. It wouldn't be that difficult to send the Anbu to the orphanage where Naruto stays. It could be over for him in a few minutes."

"That's an innocent child that your talking about." Itachi snarled, anger rising in him at what the man was talking about doing to Naruto. Naruto was perhaps the most innocent person that Itachi had ever met and he would be damned if Danzo decided to end Naruto's life just because he had the nine tailed demon sealed within him. "Naruto hasn't done anything to anyone, there is no reason for him to be hurt."

"Relax Itachi." Sarutobi said soothingly, turning his glare on Danzo. "No one is going to hurt Naruto, I can promise you that. He'll looked after and cared for while you are gone."

"You talk like I'll be able to come back." Itachi said. "We both know that if I do this job, I won't be coming back here." The thought of not being able to protect Naruto hurt more than the thought of slaughtering his clan did. Itachi supposed it was because out of the two groups Naruto was the most innocent of the bunch, he wasn't planning on hurting anyone just because he was angry at his treatment.

"As long as Naruto is cared for properly." Itachi said. "I'll do the job, just know that my brother will be spared as well because I could no sooner raise a hand to harm him than I could Naruto."

"So be it." Sarutobi said. "Sasuke won't know anything about what went down tonight. He'll only know that his clan was slaughtered, for all intents and purposes he'll be told that you were among the slain. We don't need to raise a hate filled young man."

"But if you tell him that Itachi killed the clan and spared him to test his abilities on then Sasuke will have no choice but to grow up strong so that he could eventually face Itachi in battle." Danzo said.

"That's not going to be how it works." Sarutobi said. "There's already too much hate in the world, and Itachi wouldn't want his brother to be filled with that same hate."

"Not every ninja loves peace as much as Itachi does." Danzo commented. "Some would think that he has a very naïve way of thinking."

"It's not such a bad thing to strive for peace." Itachi said. "it's never to big of a dream to reach for."

"It won't ever happen." Danzo said. "Not as long as there are ninja's with a grudge."

"Maybe not, but it's what I'm working towards." Itachi said. "And as far as I'm concerned that's a worthy goal." Truth be told Itachi was starting to get a headache and he wanted nothing more than to get away from this meeting. He wanted to see Naruto before Itachi went home for the last time. He hated that things were going down like this for his family but they had brought it upon themselves for all their plotting against the village.

"Naïve boy." Danzo murmured. "I don't know that you'll be able to carry out the job."

"I believe he will be able too." Sarutobi said. "And that's the only opinion needed on the matter. Itachi you may go now, I'm sure you'll want to do some preparing."

"I want to be able to tell Naruto goodbye." Itachi said. "He's not going to understand why I won't be around to keep him safe anymore."

"He'll be okay, I'll keep an eye on the boy when I am able too." Sarutobi said. Itachi nodded and turned towards the door and started out. Naruto would probably be at his favorite ramen stand or he would he wandering the streets, trying to avoid the villagers.

Exiting the Hokage tower, Itachi made his way out into the street, he didn't know what would happen to him, Sasuke or Naruto from here out, but he hoped that Sasuke and Naruto ended up becoming friends so that they would both have someone to help with the loneliness that they were bound to feel.

"I wish things didn't have to be this way." Itachi said. "I want my family to be accepted in the village but I want my family to respect the village as well. I guess that's just too much to ask for." Itachi sighed, and shoved his hands into his pockets and dragged his feet across the dirt. He didn't know what he was going to tell Naruto but he dreaded telling him that he would soon be departing and it was probably for good. Itachi traveled on for a few minutes until he heard the sounds of pained whimpers and the sound of feet slamming into flesh. Frowning, Itachi looked up and turned down the alley way to find a small Naruto backed into a corner with three teenage boy's kicking him and punching him.

"Hey, back off!" Itachi called out, feeling alarmed that Naruto had yet again been getting hurt.  
"What if we don't?" one of the teenagers asked, sneering at Itachi.

"You'll do what I say." Itachi said flashing his sharingan at them, knowing that the sight of his red eyes would be enough to terrify the boy's into submission. By now they would know of the things that Itachi could do with his eyes and they would be frightened. It didn't take long for the three boy's to take off running, leaving Itachi to kneel down beside a dirty and bleeding blonde boy.

"'Tachi'" Naruto whimpered looked up into the dark eyed Uchiha. "You came."

"I told you I would protect you as much as I could." Itachi murmured as he ran his hands over Naruto's sides to check for possible internal injuries. "Are you hurting?"

"Not really, I was a little sore but that's going away quickly." Naruto replied as Itachi stood up and held his hand out for Naruto to grab. Pulling the nine year old to his feet, Itachi grimaced at the filthy clothes. It didn't look like the orphanage was taking very good care of him. Itachi wished that he could make them listen but people refused to see Naruto as a human boy and not a monster that claimed their loved one's lives.

"Listen, Naruto." Itachi said as they started down the street. "In the morning you're probably going to hear somethings, things that aren't going to be very pleasant, but they will be true. I don't want those things to change your opinion of me."

"Nothing can change what I think of you." Naruto replied. "You'll always be my savior and my hope in this darkness."

"I fear that things may get a little darker." Itachi murmured, his heart hurting because he knew that Naruto didn't realize that Itachi was saying goodbye. "I won't be able to see you for a while."

"Why? Am I being punished?" Naruto asked. "Is it because the villagers hate me? Is that way you won't be able to visit me again?" Itachi couldn't stop the tears that welled in his eyes, he should have known that Naruto would blame himself.

"You're not being punished, you didn't do anything wrong." Itachi said gently. "Nothing that happens tomorrow is your fault, I can promise you that."

"Then why can't I have my Itachi?" Naruto asked as Itachi walked Naruto up to the orphanage door.

"Because I have to go away for a really long time." Itachi said. "And I don't know that I'll be coming back here. Think of it as a really long mission."

"Missions come to and end." Naruto said, looking down at the ground, afraid that if he looked at Itachi, Itachi would see his tears.

"I'm sorry, Naruto that I can't stay and protect you like I promised I would. Maybe one day we'll meet again, but for now it can't happen." Itachi said, kneeling down in front of the little boy. "I'm more sorry than you can imagine because I know that you're going to go through hell. But I promise I'll be thinking about you every day."

"I don't want you to leave me." Naruto said as he rushed forward and threw himself into Itachi's arms. Itachi had made things better for Naruto when things had looked bleak for the little boy. He'd always been quick to defend Naruto when someone was looking down on him.

"I don't want to leave either, but believe me when I saw that things are going to be better for me if I leave." Itachi said, hating that he was hurting Naruto like this. Naruto deserved to be happy and have someone around him that truly cared about him and not the money that they could make off of him.

"Be good, Naruto." Itachi murmured as he finally pulled away, he hated that he was going to go home and cause hell for his little brother next. But something had to be done in order to save the village. Would it hurt to do it? Like hell but Itachi was going to keep the place that he called home safe, even if it meant living out the rest of his days in hell.

I don't update without reviews. Liz


	2. Chapter 2

The Crow and the Butterfly

Chapter 2

As Itachi wandered through Konoha, towards the Uchiha Manner, he couldn't get Naruto's soft pleads for him not to abandon him out of his head. If there had been any other choice, he would be doing what he was doing now. His family had crossed a line with their plotting and as such had to be punished. Itachi didn't think that wiping them all off of the planet would do much good, considering how invaluable their eyes were.

It was too bad that his clan didn't consider that before plotting to destroy the place that Itachi called home. He would do anything to protect the village and the people within it. Although half the time he was angry at the villagers for how they treated Naruto. When Itachi returned home from a mission he would often sneak into the orphanage to check up on a Naruto, he was horrified to find that Naruto was sleeping on top of a cardboard box in the basement away from the other children.

_"Explain why Naruto is sleeping in the basement where it's cold!" A furious Itachi demanded of the woman that ran the orphanage. "Why is he not with the other children where he can learn to be social?"_

_ "Those other children shouldn't have to be around that beast." The woman snarled. "The Hokage is lucky that I even took him in out of the kindness of my heart. No one else would take such a worthless monster in." Itachi didn't think it was possible to become any more furious than he already was. How could this woman think that she was being kind to a small child that had never done anything to harm anyone. _

_ "If that's what you call kindness." Itachi seethed. "I would hate to see what you called being mean."_

_ "That beast deserves to be beaten, he's wild and unruly and he can't be controlled. The other kid's are terrified of him." The woman stated._

_ "Maybe you should try giving him some attention and maybe then he wouldn't be so unruly." Itachi said. "Instead of just leaving him to his own devices all the time. I'm sure the other kids are afraid of him because of something you've let slip out." Itachi couldn't stand the idea of the other children bullying Naruto for something that he'd had no control over. If Itachi could make it happen, they wouldn't be bullying him again. _

_ "He doesn't need any attention." The caregiver said. "he's fine being alone."_

_ "You can't expect me to believe that he's not lonely, every child desires companionship." Itachi replied, glancing over at Naruto whom still lay curled up on top of the cardboard box. He didn't know how Naruto could even sleep on the hard object, but then again perhaps it was because he was used to it. Itachi hated that the kindhearted Naruto was used to being treated like he was less than human. _

_ "If he doesn't have a bed next to the other children by tomorrow, there's going to be some severe punishments given out." Itachi said. "I don't think you want the Hokage to find out that Naruto isn't being treated well."_

_ "It's not like he's getting beaten." The woman stated harshly, glaring over at the sleeping boy. "There's no need for threats."_

_ "Something tells me that you don't stop anyone from hurting him either. But that stops now." Itachi said. "I won't allow him to suffer anymore than he already has."_

_ "Why do you care about what happens to this orphan, it's not like he matters." The caregiver asked._

_ "He matters more than you can imagine." Itachi replied. "it's just a shame that you are too stupid to realize it."_

_ "No one is ever going to want a monster like him. So you can take your rage and go somewhere else. I'm in charge of his care and there's nothing you can do to change that." The woman told him. Itachi's eyes narrowed, she could make her veiled threats but that didn't mean that Itachi was going to bow down to her and allow her to bully an innocent child._

_ "Have him moved upstairs or face the consequences." Itachi snarled. He wished that he could take Naruto home with him, but his father wouldn't be too pleased with that idea. He wouldn't the container of the beast that had caused their families troubles to be under the same roof as them, which Itachi could understand but at the same time Naruto needed a good home. He would probably only continue to be abused until the Hokage got involved. _

_ "I'll be by to check on him tomorrow. He better have a decent bed." Itachi said._

_ "I'll have to speak to Lord Third about you breaking and entering and putting the other children in danger." The caregiver said. "I don't want you here scaring the children."_

_ "Naruto needs someone to look out for him." Itachi retorted. "He doesn't need you to abuse him."_

_ "He needs some sense beaten into him." The caregiver muttered. Itachi glowered at the ground as he walked off, he hadn't really considered it breaking and entering. He'd searched for Naruto amongst the other children and when he didn't find him, he'd come downstairs. He was plenty pissed that Naruto was forced to sleep away from the other kids. They would never learn to accept him if they didn't get to spend any time with him. _

Naruto had been removed from that orphanage a short time later because it had been discovered that not only had she never gotten Naruto a proper bed, but he'd barely been given a proper meal. Itachi hated to know that Naruto must have wondered why she had treated him the way she did. It was probably hard for the young child to understand what was going on. Itachi sighed he wished he could stick around the village to keep an eye on him, but he had a mission to fulfill. One that would end up taking him away from the village that he so dearly loved. He'd wanted to be able to watch Naruto grow up into a strong Ninja, but now that wasn't going to happen. Why did things have to be so complicated? Why couldn't they be simple for a change? Itachi hadn't wanted things to be like this, but he had no choice. He would have to somehow pull this mission off and then live the rest of his life as a rouge nin. That had never been in his plans to keep the peace but since there was nothing that he could about it. He would complete the mission to the best of his abilities. He couldn't help but wonder what would happen to Sasuke. Would he turn toward bitterness and hatred? The Third Hokage had said he was going to tell Sasuke that he was among the dead so that Sasuke wouldn't hunt him down. Itachi just wasn't sure that Sasuke would believe it, especially if something happened and Itachi needed to be brought back to the village. Not that Itachi could foresee that ever happening, but one never knew if there would be a group of the strongest ninja's around sent to attack a village.

Sighing, Itachi shoved his hands into his pockets and wondered why all of this had fallen onto his shoulders. He was thirteen years old, most 13-year old's were on a genin team doing the lowest of missions possible. Itachi had surpassed that stage a long time ago, and now he was a member of the elite Anbu. Sometimes he regretted having moved so quickly up the ranks of being a ninja. If he hadn't then he wouldn't be facing the reality of abandoning Naruto to a village that hated him. Itachi wouldn't be able protect Naruto from the hell that was sure to come his way. It physically made Itachi hurt to think of what Naruto would face. Who knew what Sasuke would think when he returned home from school tomorrow to discover that his clan had been slaughtered? Itachi desperately hoped that no one told Sasuke that it was Itachi whom had done the slaughtering. He didn't want Sasuke to hate him for what was getting ready to take place. Itachi wished that what was going to happen could be prevented but he understood that his clan was too prideful to back down from what they deemed as them getting mistreated and mistrusted.

"One day there will be peace." Itachi murmured. "There won't be anymore fighting, everyone will get along." He was sure most people believed him to be naïve for thinking that was possible, but Itachi believed that one day there would be a world without fighting. Itachi was going to hold onto that belief that it would happen, he just had to keep believing and working to become stronger so that he could make it happen. He had to believe that what was about to happen would help make him stronger and increase the power in his eyes so that he could make his dreams come true. He didn't want to live in a world where there was constant fighting, he desperately wanted peace. He didn't care what he had to endure to get it, he was going to make sure that his brother and Naruto had a better world to live in than one that was filled with war and hatred.

As he reached his family home, he stood and stared at the home that was beckoning him to come in and rest. He wondered about the blood that would be spilled if the halls would ever forget it or would the blood stains be like a silent cry for vengeance, one that he hoped his brother wouldn't answer. Sasuke was young enough though to remember what happened to his family, Itachi really hoped that that didn't push Sasuke down a path of violence.

"Let Sasuke be strong through the coming nightmare." Itachi murmured. "I won't be here to guide him through it, and don't let Naruto come to any harm from the villagers. Let him find someone that's going to care about what happens to him." Itachi was really worried about what was going to happen to Naruto because the boy didn't have a soul in the village that cared about what happened to him aside from him. Itachi almost wished that he could just take Naruto with him, but he was sure that that would be seen as an act of treason and he really would be hunted down and most likely killed. Shaking his head as if to clear his thoughts, Itachi entered the house and stood in the door for a moment as if contemplating what his next move was going to be. He wouldn't actually be able to go through with the Hokage's plan until tomorrow. Which gave him some time to prepare mentally for what he was going to do.

"Itachi is that you?" he heard his mother's quiet voice call from the kitchen.

"Yeah, its me." Itachi replied, trying to block out the fact that this time tomorrow he will have taken his mother and father's life. He didn't want to think about living his life outside of the village, unable to return because of his mission. He couldn't help but wonder why his father and some of the other's couldn't just aside their pride and come together to work with the village to keep it safe. Itachi supposed after the Nine Tailed Demon attack his clan would never be trusted again because they were possibly the only ones that could have called the demon forth. Clearly Itachi realized that someone in the clan had possibly summoned the demon, for what reasons he didn't know. But he knew that the entire clan shouldn't be blamed. If it wasn't for that then maybe the clan would have been given the chance to live and to make up for their mistakes. Now though it was too late for that to happen and his family would pay the price.

"How did the meeting with the Hokage go?" Mikoto stuck her head through the door to the kitchen and asked.

"It was informative." Itachi replied quietly. "And it shouldn't take very long to accomplish."

"You're father would be proud of you, with the way your moving up the ranks." Mikoto said quietly. "Your going to do the Uchiha clan proud."

"Sure." Itachi murmured, his mother's voice making his chest ache at what he was going to do. Why did he have to kill everyone? Not everyone was planning on starting a rebellion. Itachi swallowed hard, and took a deep breath, he had to be prepared mentally for what he was going to do.

"Where's Sasuke?" Itachi asked, wanting to spend as much time with his little brother as possible.

"He's outside, training." Mikoto said, offering Itachi a soft smile. "He wants to be just like his big brother."

"I'll make sure that he gets the opportunity." Itachi replied cryptically, leaving his mother puzzled as he exited the room. He was starting to feel a little bitter about the weight that had been added to his shoulders. What other 13 year old kid had this kind of mission? He just had to suck it up and believe that what he was doing was going to be the best for the village.

"Sasuke," Itachi called out when he spotted his little brother throwing his shurikin at a target.

"Itachi, your finally home." Sasuke called out, turning and spotting Itachi. "What took so long?"

"I had to stop by and see someone." Itachi said. Sasuke frowned at him, Itachi didn't really do friends so who could Itachi have been visiting?

"There's a boy, he's a little younger than you." Itachi said softly, kneeling in front of Sasuke. "He doesn't have a family to call his own. He needs a friend, someone to call brother when he gets lonely. Can you help him? He might be a little while, that's because he's lonely and doesn't get any attention. Can you be a friend to him?" Sasuke frowned and wondered what his brother was talking about. Why couldn't Itachi be this other kid's friend, why did Sasuke have to do it? Why was Itachi talking like he wasn't going to be around?

"Why can't you do it?" Sasuke asked quietly. "Where are you going to be? I thought you would be home for a little bit since you were just on a long mission."

"Unfortunately, I'm going to be going on another mission, one that's going to take me away for a very long time." Itachi told him. "If I'm honest, I'll probably be gone for years."

"Why were you given this mission?" Sasuke asked looking up at Itachi with tears in his eyes. "Why does it have to be you that goes on this long time mission."

"Because the Hokage believes that I'm the only one that can do it." Itachi replied. "I'm the only one that he trusts with such an important mission. Someday when your taking on missions of your own, you'll understand. You'll have to leave the ones that you love to accomplish your task."

"If it means never getting to see my family, I don't ever want to be a ninja." Sasuke replied stubbornly.

"But you must." Itachi replied. "You must grow up to become a strong ninja and make mother and father proud of you." Even if they wouldn't be there to watch Sasuke grow up, they would be able to look down on him from above and hopefully somehow give him hints that they would always be with him, even if it wasn't in the physical. Just the thought of leaving Sasuke alone in the world, made his heart hurt, but Itachi was determined that he was going to fulfill this mission and do his village proud, no matter what it cost him in the end.

"Naruto is going to need someone to look up too." Itachi said, "he doesn't have anyone to care about him. He needs you, promise me that you will help him. He's very lonely, you can change that for him."

"I would rather have you." Sasuke said. "You can keep him from being lonely."

"Unfortunately, you don't always get what you want." Itachi replied. "Things are in motion that can't be stopped. I can't tell you anything about it right now, but you will find out soon enough. Promise me that you'll be strong and you'll become a strong ninja." Sasuke nodded, though he didn't really understand what Itachi was saying. He didn't really understand why his brother was leaving him when he'd just gotten back from a long mission away from home.

"No matter what you here, Sasuke." Itachi said gently, knowing that his little brother was having a hard time understanding what Itachi was doing. "Remember that I love you and I always will. Nothing that you can say or do will ever change that." Itachi reached out a hand and gently poked Sasuke in the forehead with two fingers, causing his brother to grimace.

"I love you too brother." Sasuke said, frowning at Itachi, who stood up and turned and headed back into the house. He really didn't understand what was going on, but he was getting the feeling that something bad was going to take place soon.

It hurt Itachi to turn away from his brother, but he feared that if he stuck around any longer that he would change his mind about accepting the mission, should that happen there likely would have been some dire consequences for him. None of which he wanted to think about right then, he just hoped that Sasuke wouldn't grow bitter and angry over what he was facing. That's where he hoped that Naruto could help his brother. Naruto knew what it was like to not have a family and he knew well the pain of loneliness. Naruto more than anyone could be a friend to Sasuke when Sasuke needed it, and in return Sasuke could guide Naruto out of his loneliness and help him to be a friend to Naruto. Itachi desperately hoped that they could be there for one another during their darkest moments. Itachi feared what would happen to Naruto if he didn't find a person to care about him. He didn't want Naruto to feel like he wasn't worth anything. If Naruto's loneliness turned to bitterness and hatred, Itachi feared what would happen to the village. Nothing would stop Naruto from self destructing, especially since the Uchiha clan would no longer be there to control the demon.

Itachi heaved a heavy sigh as he entered the house again, he was exhausted physically and emotionally and he wanted nothing more than to be able to get some rest.

"Are you okay?" Mikoto asked, poking her head through the kitchen door.

"I'm okay, just tired." Itachi admitted. "It's been a long day and a long mission. I don't know if I'm ready for another long mission so soon."

"It's the way of the ninja." Mikoto said gently. "You have to get used to it. Why don't you go lay down before dinner and I will come and get you when it's ready."

"Sounds good." Itachi murmured, he didn't think he could be in the same room with his mother without thinking about what would be happening tomorrow. He dreaded it more with every passing moment, but he remembered what it was like to see the innocent villagers being attacked and killed by the nine tailed demon. Was it fair to blame the Uchiha for what had happened that night, when many of the Uchiha had no idea of how the attack had happened, and whom exactly had summoned the demon. He wished that they could find the person responsible so they could be punished for the lives lost that night, but even so Itachi supposed his clan would still have to be punished for planning a rebellion. No matter how Itachi looked at it, he couldn't get past the fact that the Uchiha wanted to overthrow the Hokage and take over. Treason couldn't be overlooked no matter how hard you tried to see it from both sides. Itachi only regretted that he had to be a part of it.

"Dear Kami, don't let Sasuke find out anything about my involvement. I really don't think I could handle knowing that he hated me for what happened." Itachi murmured. Taking a deep breath, and closing his eyes, hoping that his dreams weren't going to be dark and bloody.

"_Itachi? Why did you leave me?" an older Itachi stood in front of a thirteen year old Naruto, who looked up at him with such pleading in his eyes. "Why did you leave me to be hurt by the villagers? You know that they don't exactly care for me. Without you around, the beatings got worse."_

_ "I had to." Itachi murmured. "I had no choice but to leave. My clan was murdered, there wasn't anything left for me here." Itachi knew that he sounded a little harsh to the teen in front of him, but he had to keep Naruto from guessing what had really gone down, if word got back to Sasuke. Itachi didn't doubt that Sasuke would probably hunt Itachi down. He didn't want Sasuke to hate him, he knew that Sasuke and Naruto had become good friends and that Naruto would help Sasuke hunt him down if that's what it came too. _

_ "That's not fair." Naruto said. "All missions come to an end eventually."_

_ "Not mine." Itachi said. "How's my brother doing? I haven't seen Sasuke in a long time."_

_ "He's doing well, surprisingly well considering what happened to his family." Naruto said. "Why don't you ask him yourself? Wait, you can't, he believes your dead as well."_

_ "There were reasons that you don't understand." Itachi replied. Naruto huffed impatiently. He hated when Itachi was in a bad mood. They would end up arguing and saying shit that they didn't mean._

_ "You should let Sasuke know that your still alive." Naruto said quietly. "He misses you something terrible."_

_ "I miss him too, but he can't know that I'm alive." Itachi said. "I don't want it to be that way but it has to be."_

_ "I'm starting to think that you are nothing more than a coward." Naruto said. "You're brother is suffering and you could stop it but your not."_

_ "That's my business it's none of your concern. He's not the only one that has to suffer." Itachi snapped._

_ "Sure looks like it to me. You've changed since the last time I've seen you." Naruto said shaking his head. He had always admired Itachi for being a strong ninja but now it didn't look like being away from the village had done him any favors._

_ "If you've had to live life the way I've had too, you would be a little different too." Itachi snapped, growing irritated. "I came here to check on Sasuke, I've done that now it's time for me to leave."_

_ "Maybe next time you can find someone else to use for information." Naruto murmured, his heart longing for the easier friendship that they'd shared in their younger years. _

_ "Sasuke is my responsibility, I'm assuming that your someone else's responsibility." Itachi replied. _

_ "I guess I just don't matter to anyone." Naruto murmured. Itachi's eyes narrowed, as Naruto turned his back towards Itachi and started wandering off, not really replying to Itachi's comment. Was it possible that despite Sasuke and Naruto having become friends that Naruto still felt alone? Itachi frowned, in reality he hadn't just been here to check on Sasuke but Naruto as well. Itachi could see that Naruto's depression was worse than it ever had been and if something didn't get done Naruto would end up taking his own life. Itachi was sure he'd probably already figured out a way to keep the nine tailed demon from interrupting his suicide attempt. Itachi had to keep that from happening, Naruto had to become a strong ninja, maybe then he could guide Konoha into a time of peace like no other Hokage had managed._

_ "Just hang on a little longer Naruto, there's still hope for you yet." Itachi murmured as he waited for a few minutes before following after Naruto. He wasn't surprised to see how the villagers moved to avoid Naruto. He was surprised to see stones get thrown a few of them landing hard enough to bruise. Itachi scowled, he was still being mistreated? Itachi wondered if he ever said anything to the Hokage about it? Lord Third could fix it in a flash. Then again didn't the Hokage promise that Naruto was going to be well taken care of while Itachi was gone? It didn't look like that had happened._

_ "Naruto!" Itachi called out loud enough that Naruto paused in his footsteps. Allowing a bigger stone to be thrown at his head, hitting hard enough to make Itachi grimace and turn his glare on the villager that had dared to throw the stone. He was surprised to see that it was Naruto's own teammate Sakura Haruno that had thrown the stone._

_ "You don't deserve to be a ninja anymore after what happened to Sasuke!" Sakura yelled at Naruto, who hunched his shoulders but didn't reply. Itachi frowned, what had happened to his brother? Why was it Naruto's fault?_

_ "It's your fault that those Nin got a hold of his eyes, Sasuke is permanently blinded because of you, not to mention that he ended up losing a leg in the explosion that followed. All because you didn't warn us that those nin were there. That's treason in case you didn't know."_

_ "I thought they were there to help!" Naruto replied, raising his hand to rub at the back of head, he lowered his hand to find blood soaking it. "They were Konoha nin, I'm not the one committing treason." Itachi frowned at the news Naruto had known the ninja were there and he hadn't said anything. That didn't sound like Naruto was being a good teammate or friend. He should have said something about the nin being there. Itachi scowled at Naruto's back. He needed to have a long conversation with Naruto to discover what had really happened._

_ "Naruto Uzumaki?" an Anbu guard said, suddenly appearing in front of Naruto._

_ "What do you want?" Naruto asked bitterly. "Because I know it's not to help." _

_ "I am ordered by the Hokage to strip you of your headband. Your actions on your latest mission have been deemed treasonous." _

_ "You strip me of my headband you might as well strip me of my life." Naruto said, swallowing hard. He'd had the feeling that Kakashi Hatake had reported this incident despite Naruto having told them what he suspected about the Nin, that he'd thought had been there to help. No one was listening to him because it was much easier to assume that Naruto was the treasonous Nin than other Konoha Nin were. _

_ "I'm following my orders." The Anbu replied. "You're lucky that he doesn't have you executed for the part that you played. It's nothing less than you deserve for what happened to Sasuke. He was a very talented Nin, he could have been very useful to the village but you ruined that for him." _

_ "There's more to the story that you refuse to listen to. Something sinister is in the works around here." Naruto said. "I'm the only one that can see it." _

_ "You've never been that talented." Sakura called out. "You wouldn't know if there was trouble in the village unless it was right in front of your face."_

_ "I guess when the village gets attacked, you can find someone else to fight for it." Naruto said, reaching up and yanking his headband off and handing it to the Anbu guard. He'd never been so humiliated in his life. He didn't understand why the Hokage had to do that here instead of in his office. If he didn't want to deal with the Jinchuuriki anymore all he had to do was say something, Naruto would have been more than happy to leave the village._

_ Itachi watched the scene unfold with a frown on his face. What the hell was going on here? Since when did the Hokage strip any ninja of their headband in front of the villagers? Was what Naruto said about the Konoha Nin being the treasonous ones correct or did something go wrong in Naruto and he decided to destroy Sasuke's career on his own? _

_ Itachi kept his hood pulled low over his face as he hurried after Naruto. He needed to get the truth out of Naruto before something drastic happened._

_ "What happened with my brother?" Itachi demanded as he reached out and grabbed a hold of Naruto's arm and forcibly turned him to face Itachi._

_ "We went on a mission, the mission itself went fine." Naruto said, his voice devoid of any emotion. "On the way back, we were ambushed by the Sound Nin. I sensed the presence of Konoha Nin among them, I thought they were there to help, instead they got Sasuke separated from us and moved in for the attack. They caused an explosion that left Sasuke unconscious and they stole his eyes, while he couldn't defend himself. The explosion caused Sasuke to be badly injured, he had some pretty serious internal injuries and he ended up having to have his leg amputated."_

_ "Why did you tell me he was doing okay then?" Itachi asked. "Because that doesn't sound like he's doing okay."_

_ "He's better than he was." Naruto replied, looking down at the ground to avoid looking Itachi in the eyes. "Besides you should go visit your brother, this a good excuse. He can't see you therefore he won't know that it's you visiting him." _

_ "It sounds like you weren't being a good teammate." Itachi said. "It's no wonder that you were stripped of your headband." Naruto didn't say anything, just yanked his arm out of Itachi's grip and turned and started toward the Hokage monument. Itachi frowned at Naruto's silence, something wasn't right, he just couldn't put his finger on it. Itachi scowled at Naruto's back, he supposed the teen was right he would be able to go see his brother now, without his brother realizing that it was him. Still, Itachi had hoped that Sasuke would have a good long career in protecting the village. Itachi had hoped that Sasuke could help clear up the Uchiha name, and that they would trust him more than the clan had been trusted. It looks like his hopes were down the drain thanks to Naruto. Itachi scowled, Naruto couldn't have known the plans that Itachi had had for Sasuke, but then again it was almost like he did. Naruto didn't know that Itachi had slaughtered his family, he just knew that Itachi was no longer allowed in the village, he could have put two and two together. Why would he have planned that for Sasuke though? Itachi wondered. Was Naruto jealous that the last several times Itachi had snuck into the village and had spent more time asking about Sasuke then being concerned about Naruto's issues? Itachi had noticed that Naruto's apartment had lacked any real warmth and Itachi hadn't thought anything of it when Naruto had offered him a lukewarm drink. Itachi supposed Naruto's landlord had turned his utilities off again without warning._

_ As Itachi turned to make his way to the hospital, he heard a startled gasp from the group of people that had watched Naruto's humiliation of having his headband stripped away. Noticing the crowd was looking up, Itachi raised his eyes to witness something falling off the Hokage monument and Itachi blinked at the image, his mind wondering what was going on before he realized that Naruto had jumped off the stone head. Sasuke forgotten, Itachi rushed forward towards the monument and wondered what he would find, if there would be anything left of Naruto to find once he hit the ground. _

_ Itachi reached the monument just in time to witness Naruto's body slam into the ground. Itachi grimaced as he heard the sound of bones breaking and the familiar sound squelch of blood as it burst forth. Itachi grimaced and knelt down beside Naruto, the boy somehow still conscious, agony written across his face as Itachi reached out and touched Naruto's side. He could felt the broken ribs and hear the wheezing sound as Naruto's body struggled to take in air. _

_ "Why would you do this?" Itachi asked, his heart filled with fear. He hadn't wanted Naruto to come to this end._

_ "No one cares about what happens to me." Naruto gasped, "As you witnessed earlier. I will never have the villagers respect, and I'm tired of fighting for a village that hates me. Even your brother hates me, he's probably the worst of my tormentors." Itachi grimaced as he pulled Naruto's broken body into his lap. Naruto wasn't going to be conscious long and when that happened he would probably lose this battle to live. But wasn't that the point? Naruto didn't want to live anymore, he'd been mistreated by the villagers his entire life. Clearly it hadn't gotten better after Itachi had left. He kind of wished that he had taken Naruto with and perhaps this could have been prevented. _

_ "I'm sorry, Naruto." Itachi murmured. "I never even thought to ask if your situation had improved." Itachi held Naruto tightly to him as he felt Naruto's chest rise and fall one last time. He held Naruto tightly until Naruto had safely passed from one life to his next._

_PLEASE REVIEW! Liz_


	3. Chapter 3

The Crow and the Butterfly

Chapter 3

"Itachi! Wake up!" Itachi shot up in his bed, his breathing coming in harsh pants as he glanced around him and recognized the walls of his bedroom, which meant that Naruto was alive somewhere in Konoha that night and he hadn't jumped off of the Hokage monument and killed himself.

"That must have been some dream." Mikoto said gently. "I haven't seen you wake up in a sweat like that in years."

"I dreamed that Naruto jumped off the Hokage monument and killed himself." Itachi panted, knowing that his mother likely wouldn't understand why he was dreaming of the Jinchuuriki.

"Why would you be dreaming about him?" she wondered. "You don't have much contact with him, do you?"

"Not really." Itachi replied. "I guess I just worry that how the villagers treat him will make him hate everyone around him. It's not right that he gets treated the way that he does."

"No, it's not." Mikoto agreed. "That poor child needs someone to care about him. Maybe he wouldn't act up as much as he does if he had someone to care about him. Are you going to be okay?"

"I'll be fine." Itachi murmured, his heart still pounding in his chest. He almost wanted to go see Naruto just to make sure that the boy was in fact okay. He didn't know why he was so harsh with Naruto in the dream, especially if the Nin that had attacked his brother had been Konoha Nin. Still Itachi wondered if it had been just a dream or a premonition of what was to come. He couldn't stand the thought of Naruto killing himself, especially because the villagers couldn't see his worth.

"Naruto needs someone to keep an eye on him." Itachi said. "It's not fair that he's left to suffer at the villagers hands."

"The Hokage is supposed to be taking care of him." Mikoto pointed out.  
"Though if things were different, I would have been happy to take him in. He needs some guidance, and some love then maybe he wouldn't be getting into trouble all the time."

"I don't know about that, I bet he would still be rambunctious as ever." Itachi said. "He seems to be the type to be energetic. It's just a shame that he has to be alone, while everyone else gets to have a family."

"Not everyone has a family." Mikoto pointed out. "He's hardly the first orphan that lives in Konoha."

"Certainly not, but he's the only orphan with such a tragic past." Itachi replied. He hated that after this day, his little brother was going to be an orphan but perhaps Sasuke and Naruto could depend on the other when the world got to be too lonely for either of them to handle. At least that was Itachi's deepest wish, he didn't want Sasuke to suffer and be miserable, he wanted his little brother to realize how much he was loved, by both his parents and his brother. Even though by the end of tomorrow it wouldn't seem like it. Itachi sighed, he didn't want to think about what he was going to do anymore than necessary. It was hard to imagine that in less than 24 hours he would be considered a rogue ninja and would probably spend the rest of his life being hunted down.

"Something on your mind?" Mikoto asked. "You seem to be a little moodier than usual."

"It's nothing that anyone can do anything about." Itachi said, "in any case I'll be fine as soon as this next mission is over."

"I'm sure you'll do well and make your father proud." Mikoto said, offering Itachi a smile.

"That's a part of the problem." Itachi murmured as he sat up and threw his legs over the side of the bed. "You and Father are my mission." One that he would follow through with no matter what it cost him. Konoha would continue to be seen as a strong Ninja village. It wouldn't do for anyone else to see them as weak in the eyes of their enemies. Perhaps the slaughter of his clan would keep their enemies from seeing them as a weak nation. They would consider very carefully about attacking Konoha, especially since Konoha had one of the tailed beasts among them. Itachi really hoped that the Council didn't plan to have Naruto used as a weapon, because that would destroy the fragile blonde more than anything else would. Itachi really wished that he had more time to spend with Naruto before he had to complete his mission. He wanted to make Naruto believe that he would be okay in the coming days that he could do anything that he set his mind too, and that included becoming a strong ninja. Itachi believed that one day Naruto would make one hell of a Hokage if he only took the time to train and study and do well at the academy. Itachi did have his doubts that Naruto was going to be treated well, he just hoped that Naruto didn't let those people get him down. He deserved to be happy and worry free, but he also deserved a family.

Sighing, Itachi shook his head and headed out into the hallway and started down towards the kitchen. His father was talking quietly with Sasuke, from what Itachi could tell he was discussing training techniques with the nine year old Sasuke.

Itachi didn't say anything to his father as he lowered himself to the floor in front of their table. Itachi and Fugaku hadn't been on speaking terms lately because Itachi wanted to side with the village in terms of the rebellion, he didn't like playing the spy for his clan and he had let his father know his wishes. Fugaku hadn't been pleased with him and chose to focus his attention on training Sasuke instead of working with Itachi to develop his skills. Itachi was okay with that because he wanted Sasuke to grow up to become a strong ninja, one that could hopefully end up clearing the Uchiha name and start over anew in the village. It was just a shame that Sasuke wouldn't get to train with his father very long, many of his skills he would have to learn on his own.

"Itachi's home from his mission, he says it went well." Mikoto said quietly as she kneeled down beside her husband. Fugaku only nodded but kept his attention focused on Sasuke. Itachi rolled his eyes, he didn't care that his father was upset with him, in the grand scheme of things it didn't even matter. He still felt guilty over the thing he was going to do even though it meant taking a firm stand with the village that he so loved.

As he sat there his mind drifted back to the dream that he'd had, where Sasuke had been blinded and left disabled on a mission. Was that a premonition of what was to come or just Itachi's stressed out mind making up scenarios to worry about? He really hoped it was the latter, because he didn't want his little brother to end up in that position and he really didn't want things to end like that for Naruto. The blonde boy deserved to be more than hated for the things that he couldn't control. If Itachi could he would change the way the villagers looked at Naruto, but unfortunately only Naruto would be able to be the one to do that.

"Hey, Sasuke do you remember the boy I spoke to you about earlier?" Itachi asked as Sasuke and their father finished their conversation.

"Yes," Sasuke replied as he took a fork and speared a tomato and brought it up to his mouth. "I do."

"I really do want you to be his friend." Itachi murmured quietly. "he desperately needs someone."

"Why do you care so much?" Sasuke asked. "Surely, it's not that difficult for him to make friends." His mind drifted off to the loud blonde boy that was in his class at the academy. He was so loud and annoying and was always getting in trouble for playing some sort of prank on the teachers.

"Because despite how he acts, deep down he's lonely and he longs for companionship." Itachi replied. "and I believe it's important to help those that are less fortunate than us."

"What boy are you talking about?" Fugaku asked, narrowing his eyes at his oldest son.

"Naruto Uzumaki." Itachi replied. "he's about Sasuke's age, only a few months younger." Fugaku frowned, he didn't like the idea of Sasuke hanging out with the Jinchuuriki. What if Naruto ended up going on a rampage? Would his youngest son end up paying the price?

"Naruto?" Sasuke asked. "Why should I be friends with him? He's an idiot and he's always getting into trouble. I would be better off with someone else."

"He's lonely, that's why he acts out." Itachi said. "It would just be nice if you would be a little more understanding of him." Sasuke frowned at his brother, it appeared that something was on Itachi's mind, something that had to do with the loud annoying moron that he called a classmate.

"He's never going to be a good ninja." Sasuke stated. "He spends too much time messing around and playing pranks. I don't any of our Sensei's care to have him in class."

"There's a reason behind that. They don't mistreat him do they?" Itachi asked, knowing that he would have to speak to the Hokage about that if it turned out that they were.

"Most just ignore him and act like he's not there." Sasuke replied. "If I'm being honest, I'm kind of surprised that he's learning anything, because they don't directly teach him anything."

"They probably hope to just get him out of class." Fugaku said. "Most people don't want a class clown in their classes."

"I'm telling you that he's more than that, and if people would look past the mask that he wears than maybe they would realize that deep down he's hurting." Itachi replied. "The fact that the Sensei's won't overlook that tells me that they are judging him even though he is as innocent as they come."

"That may be true." Fugaku replied. "But he's old enough to control his own behavior. He shouldn't have to act out just to get attention. I don't want Sasuke hanging out with him, he'd probably only drag Sasuke into his trouble."

"Or perhaps Sasuke could end up saving his life." Itachi pointed out. "Everyone needs friend's he's no different."

"Still I think Sasuke would be better off, and trust me when Sasuke knows that my opinion is more important than yours." Fugaku stated leveling a cool stare at Itachi.

"If something happens to that boy because you decided that Sasuke was too good to be his friend, I'm blaming you." Itachi said, not understanding why his father was being so stubborn. It wasn't like Naruto and Sasuke being friends was going to destroy the world, about the only thing that was going to come from it was Naruto wasn't going to be so lonely anymore and maybe Naruto could help Sasuke with the grief that he was sure to feel in the coming days and months.

"I don't understand why you are poking your nose into the business about this boy. Why can't Sasuke go befriend any other orphan?" Fugaku asked, eyes narrowing.

"Because I've witnessed how brutally he's been treated." Itachi replied. "He deserves better than that, and I'm going to make sure that he gets treated better he's been."

"It's not your place to worry about him." Fugaku replied. "You have more important things to worry about, like that mission you leave for tomorrow."

"How long are you going to be gone?" Sasuke asked, turning to face his little brother.

"I can't tell you exactly, other than it's going to be a long time." Itachi replied. "You know I can't say much about my missions." Sasuke frowned at him.

"I wish you didn't have to go, I wish you could just stay home." Sasuke murmured.

"Unforunately, the village needs me for this mission." Itachi said. "I can't exactly say no to the Hokage because it's a very important mission. Our village will be safe for a long while if this mission is successful."

"I wish they didn't need you so much. I don't get to see you enough as it is." Sasuke murmured.

"One day you are going to make one hell of a ninja yourself." Itachi said . "And you'll understand about being busy, maybe eventually we can sit down and catch up on all the tales that I have missed." Itachi doubted that day would ever comes especially if he succeeded with his mission. He just hoped that one day Sasuke would come to understand that what would happen to their clan had to happen in order to make Konoha a safer place.  
"If that's all, Sasuke needs to get to bed so that he can get up on time for school in the morning." Fugaku told him stiffly. "He doesn't need you to fill his head with all of this nonsense about the Uzumaki brat." Itachi's eyes narrowed at his father, and he wondered how his father had turned out to be so blind to the suffering that went on around him. Clearly he wasn't blind to the suffering that happened to the Uchiha's but he didn't notice anyone else's.

"You know," Itachi said quietly once Sasuke had disappeared down the hall and could no longer hear him. "At least I'm standing for something and I'm not being a coward and hiding behind our clan name. It was you after all who told us that we had to take a stand for something or we would fall for anything. That's what I'm doing, I don't know why you're so pissed about it. It's my choice and my road to walk, I'm going to be the one that ends up paying the price for it no matter what happens."

"I meant that you had to take a stand for your clan." Fugaku said. "Not for the village that treats us like outcasts."

"At one time you were proud to be a part of our village." Itachi said. "You were proud of being the police force. What changed that you've decided that a rebellion is more important than anything. Innocent people will be hurt and killed, I don't think that's the price that anyone should have to pay."

"We're mistreated and mistrusted." Fugaku replied. "We were moved to the outter edge of the village whereas we were once in the center. We were accused of a crime that we never committed. The village should have to pay for what they have done to us."

"Two wrongs don't make a right." Itachi murmured. "You should know that."

"You're nothing but a child." Fugaku remarked. "Maybe once you're older you'll really understand what it means to be a ninja. You'll find out that your dream of world without fighting, is just that, a dream."

"I don't think it is." Itachi replied. "I believe if we work hard enough we can make any dream come true." Fugaku shook his head.

"You are nothing more than a naïve child if you think that you can make that happen." Fugaku stated. Itachi frowned at him, he didn't think that it made him naïve to believe that there could be a world filled with peace instead of a world filled with hatred and violence.

"Maybe you don't understand." Itachi said. "There has to be something better than a world full of bitterness and anger."

"The world is how we make it, it wouldn't be so bad if people could respect the Uchiha's." Fugaku said.

"What have we done to deserve respect?" Itachi asked. "You're planning on trying to overthrow the Hokage. No one will respect the Uchiha for that. Do you honestly think that any of the citizens would actually listen to anything you had to say?"

"The Uchiha should be the Hokage after everything this clan has been put through." Fugkau stated.

"That doesn't mean that respect is going to be automatically given." Itachi said. "It's going to take more than overthrowing the government to gain respect of the citizens of Konoha."

"I suppose you know what we should do in order to gain their trust?" Fugaku said bitterly. "They're always going to believe that we were the ones responsible for bringing the nine tailed demon here."

"Weren't we?" Itachi asked. "They know that only an Uchiha has the power to control nine tails. What else are they supposed to believe, and supposing that they are right about us, someone in the clan did bring it here so they aren't really wrong."

"We had nothing to do with bringing that beast here to cause as much damage as it did." FUgaky said, glaring at his eldest son. "You're only 13 years old, I can't expect you to understand our reasons for rebelling against Konoha."

"If you can't be happy here, do you honestly think you'll be happy being in control of everything?" Itachi asked. "I can't imagine you being any happier than you are now."

"That's none of your concern." Fugaku replied. "Like I said your just a child. I wouldn't expect you to understand anything." Itachi shook his head, if anyone didn't understand it was his father. It was a shame that Itachi couldn't make the man open his eyes before he paid such a high price.

"You don't understand that serious actions have serious consequences." Itachi said.

"You're going to find out how serious." Fugaku replied. "If you don't do what your told and keep spying on the village." Itachi sighed. There was no point in trying to warn his father, it wasn't like the man was ever going to listen to him to begin with.

"I guess this conversation is over." Itachi said, pushing himself to his feet. "I'm going to go to bed so I can get plenty of rest for my mission."

"You do that." Fugaku said firmly, his eyes narrowed on Itachi's back as he left the room. There was something that Itachi wasn't telling him and it made him wonder if it had something to do with the spying on the village. He knew Itachi didn't like being used in such a way, but considering what their clan had been put through Itachi was the best one to use with all of his talents. Him and Shisui would have both probably have been the most talented Ninja in the clan and they would of helped restore the Uchiha clan to proper respect in the eyes of the villagers. Sadly, Shisui had died before he could accomplish much for the clan, it was a shame too because he could have been really useful to the clan.

Itachi sighed and hurried down the hall to his room, he was ready to get this mission over with so that he find a way to bring peace to the world. He didn't care what price he had to pay, but he was going to find a way to ensure that there was no more fighting. Flopping down on his bed, Itachi stared up at the ceiling, he was tired of fighting with his father all the time, and trying to make his father understand his need for a better world. If it had been for Fugaku taking him to a warzone when he was little Itachi might not have wanted peace as much as he did now.

"Shisui, guide me on my mission." Itachi murmured. "It's possibly the most difficult mission I've ever done.." Itachi didn't think it was possible to miss his friend more than he did then. Sure, he'd been the one accused of murdering Shisui when Itachi knew full well that Shisui had killed himself to keep Danzo from getting his other eye.

"I think that things would be much easier if you were still here. We'd both be working towards the same goal. Now I'm working alone and I don't know if I can accomplish what I've set out to do." Itachi was more concerned about his little brother and Naruto once he left the village, he wouldn't be able to do anything to help them and he hated it. Naruto didn't deserve to suffer more than he already had in his young life. Sasuke was going to be the last Uchiha in Konoha, Itachi was sure that he would probably be worshiped for his talents as a ninja and Sasuke, probably wouldn't care too much for it. He just really hoped that Sasuke didn't do anything drastic to avoid people. Itachi really hoped that Sasuke wouldn't be told anything about Itachi's involvement, it would be better for Sasuke to believe that Itachi was among those killed. It broke Itachi's heart to have to lie to his brother like that, but Sasuke couldn't ever find out the truth, he'd probably end up hating Itachi.

"Shisui, whatever happens please keep Sasuke from finding out the truth. I don't think I could handle it if he knew what I was going to do." Itachi closed his eyes, dreading the moment that he would wake up. It would be after Sasuke went to school, but before most of the clan were fully up and moving for the day. He wouldn't have much time so he would have to act fast. "Just let me get through this nightmare without much trouble." Itachi hated violence with a passion and he wanted nothing more than to be able to change what his job was, but The Hokage wanted it done so Itachi had no choice. The village came before anyone else and Itachi was going to protect the village.

_"__Brother, what's going on?" Sasuke asked looking up at Itachi, taking in the blood on his clothes and the bloody sword in his hand as he stood over their parent's dead bodiesI "What's going on?" _

_ "__I want you to hate me." Itachi murmured as rushed forward and grabbed Sasuke and slammed him against the wall. "I want you to hate me with everything that you are, I want you to grow stronger and when you have the same eyes as me, I want you to come and find me. For now live your pathetic life with the knowledge that our clan was weak and that you couldn't stop me from slaughtering them all."_

_ "__Tachi?" Sasuke murmured. "I don't want to hate you, I don't want to come after you."_

_ "__If you don't I'll come back and kill your girlfriend, and your friends, leaving you with nothing and no one that matters." Itachi said. "I'm going to strip you of everything and leave you with nothing. You better become strong, if you want to protect those you care about." _

_Room _

Itachi shot up in the bed, his chest heaving. He didn't want Sasuke to come in on him right after he'd killed their parents. It wouldn't be fair to Sasuke to have to witness that, not to mention that he didn't want Sasuke knowing about Itachi's part to begin with.

Glancing over at the clock he noticed that it was time for Sasuke to leave for school. He swallowed hard and looked over at his sword that was sitting by the door, just waiting for Itachi to take it up. He swallowed hard, trying to summon the courage to go to his parents. His mother would be making breakfast and his father was probably catching up on the news before he headed off to the police station. This morning all their routines would be shattered and nothing would ever be the same again.

Pushing himself up, Itachi climbed off of his bed and made his way over to the closet where his Anbu uniform hung. He swallowed hard again, starting to feel sick to his stomach, he wasn't sure how he was going to get through this, he was starting to doubt that the Hokage was right about having faith in his ability to do this job.

Stripping out of his sleep clothes, Itachi pulled his black shirt on and pulled the silver vest ontop of it, tightening the straps to make sure that it fit smugly against his chest. Once he finished getting dressed, Itachi glanced around the room, this would be the last time that he would be in this room, and this house as well for that matter. Taking a deep breath, Itachi lowered his mask over his face, and turned towards the door. He paused long enough to grab his sword and exited the room. The first place he went was the kitchen and he was surprised to find that his mother wasn't in the kitchen like he suspected that she would be. Frowning, Itachi exited the kitchen and headed down the hall, where he poked his head into their bedroom, but found that she wasn't there either. Itachi headed up the hall and found both his mother and father kneeling on the carpet facing the door way.

"Mom, Dad" Itachi said, pain welling up in his chest as he wondered how he was going to go through with this. He knew that it was important for the village that this happen, but that didn't mean that he wanted too.

"We know why, Itachi." His mother said softly, as if sensing Itachi's reluctance to continue.

"Just take care of Sasuke." His father said quietly. "That's all we ask."

"I will." Itachi said as tears welled in his eyes. Itachi didn't want to do this. Itachi didn't understand how they could so easily accept their fate, especially his father whom he'd been arguing with the night before. How could he take his parents lives like this? Surely, they could change their ways and turn away from their plans for the village. If they did that, then maybe they didn't have to die.

"Don't be afraid. You've chosen this path." His father said quietly. "Be strong and stand firm in what you believe. Compared to you our pain will end in an instant. I think maybe I was too quick to judge you, perhaps I should have given more thought to the situation. I should have gotten the clan in check and waited for you to make your move. I believe that you could have changed things, changed the clan. I took your future from you, but it's too late to do anything about that now. Even if we have different beliefs I'm proud of the man you are becoming. You're a gentle child, don't let anything change that. Don't harden your heart against the beliefs that you have. You can accomplish anything that you set your mind too. I believe that you can make your dream of world peace come true." Fugaku said quietly, and Itachi grimaced as he raised his sword and lined it up with where his mother's heart would be and closeing his eyes so that he wouldn't have to witness the moment that his mother drew her last breath. Itachi grimaced as he felt the sword enter her body and he felt the moment the blade entered her heart. He couldn't stop the tears from falling as he withdrew the blade and turned to his father, who silently waited with his eyes closed. Itachi wanting nothing more than to get it over with, and thrust his sword forward feeling the moment that the sword entered his father's heart, pulling the sword out, Itachi opened his eyes and watched with tears in his eyes as his father's lifeless body fell grimaced at the thud the body made as it hit the floor. Itachi could feel the tears well in his eyes as he turned away from the bloody scene, he had so many more to kill before he would be able to make his escape out of the village. He wished more than anything that it was over already, and that he didn't have to be the one to do this. He wanted to be able to bring his parents back. He wished that things had been changed that he didn't have to do this.

"I'm sorry," Itachi sobbed as he turned away and hurried towards the door. Itachi didn't think that his heart had ever been so broken in his life. He knew that from here on out he was likely destined to live a lonely life, as a Clan killer. He doubted even that would bring him much respect in the eyes of Konoha citizens. Itachi wondered how he'd be able to live with the guilt for the rest of his life. He'd never forget the words that his parents had spoken before he'd slaughtered them. Itachi went after the rest of the clan with mindless abandonment, as he could barely think of anything but his parents as he slaughtered his clan members. When it was finished, Itachi made his way to the Hokage's office, blood staining his vest and his mask.

As he stood in front of the Hokage's desk, Itachi could barely lift his head as the guikt of what he'd just done, filled him. He didn't know how he was going to be able to live with what he was feeling. Even if his parents were guilty of planning a rebellion, Itachi desperately wished that they had changed their ways before it had come to this.

"It's done?" The Hokage asked as he entered his office to find Itachi standing before his desk.

"Yes," Itachi said, his voice quiet and filled with pain that the Hokage had never heard in the teen's voice before. "Take care of my brother, and Naruto and make sure that Naruto finds someone that cares about him, and never let Sasuke learn the truth of what went down."

"They will be well taken care of." The Hokage promised. "You have my word. You don't have to worry about those boys. You are aware that from this moment on you are a rogue ninja?" Itachi nodded, he'd never be able to see Sasuke or Naruto again, unless he snuck into the village and Itachi didn't see that happening. He was going to have long lonely life ahead of him.

"I'll be going now," Itachi said, as he pulled off his Anbu mask and laid it on the desk. He turned away tears falling down his face as he started out of the office, he hoped that it was early enough that no one would pay him any mind. He didn't think they would think anything about seeing a ninja with blood covering him. It was kind of a common occurrence around the village, which he supposed he should be grateful for.

"Tachi', what's wrong?" a young boy asked and Itachi stopped long enough to see Naruto staring up at him, concern in his blue eyes.

"Why aren't you in school?" Itachi asked, his heart racing, Naruto was the last person beside his brother, that he wanted to run into. He didn't want Naruto or Sasuke to know what he'd so easily done.

"I got thrown out of class again and didn't want to go home." Naruto said making a funny face at the word home. Itachi figured he wasn't treated any better there than he was anywhere else.

"I need you to be good." Itachi said suddenly, knowing that Naruto wasn't the problem, it was the people that took care of him. "Don't let people mistreating you make you angry. I promise there is someone here that will care about what happens to you. Find that person and do your best to make them proud."

"What about you?" Naruto asked quietly. "Aren't you going to be around?"

"I can't stay, I'm going on a mission and it's going to take a long time to complete." Itachi replied. "But maybe one day, I'll run into you again. Hopefully by then you'll be a strong ninja."

"I don't want you to leave." Naruto stated.

"I don't want to either, but I have to. My little brother is going to need some help in the coming days if you don't mind spending time with him, maybe he'll help keep you from being too lonely."

"Only you can do that." Naruto said. "Sasuke hates me."

"Sasuke is going to be lonelier than he's ever been. I think he'll be more accepting of you now." Itachi said, hoping that the dream he'd had the other night of Naruto killing himself didn't come true. He couldn't stand the thought of life turning out that way for the blonde boy who was always smiling. "I promise I will always watch over you even if I'm not in the village to do so."

"I don't understand." Naruto murmured. "Why you can't stay with me."

"I would but I can't stay. The Hokage has me on an important mission." Itachi replied, as he struggled to keep the tears at bay. He wanted nothing more than to be able to stay here and keep Naruto safe from the villagers that would cause him harm. Maybe one day if Naruto worked hard, he would become a ninja that they could respect. Naruto deserved that much and more, Itachi hoped that he desperately got it. He was a kind kid, that never stopped smiling despite how he was often treated.

"Maybe one day we'll meet again." Itachi murmured before turning his back on Naruto and hurrying towards the village gates. If he didn't get out of there now, he'd end up taking Naruto with him, but he couldn't do that and abandon his brother in the village too.

thanks for reading and reviewing Liz


	4. Chapter 4

The Crow and The Butterfly

Chapter 4

FOUR YEARS LATER

A thirteen-year-old Naruto went up ahead of his teammates, technically their mission was already over since the scroll had been delivered safe and sound. This was their second mission away from the village, and the first one had ended up being more complicated than they had expected, but they had been able to finish it, not before a few tears were shed, but it was done. Sensing the presence of more ninja, Naruto paused, frowning. He didn't know why there were more Konoha Nin here, they hadn't had any trouble so why they were quickly being surrounded. Eyes narrowing, Naruto wondered if it was possible that they were after one of their teammates. Naruto didn't think they would be after him, even if he did have the nine tails sealed in him, which he'd discovered after he'd failed at the academy again. Neither did he think that these Ninja would be after Sakura Haruno, she was a less than talented Ninja so there was no reason to go after her. Which left Naruto's other teammate Sasuke Uchiha, he'd recently awakened the Sharingan on their last mission, so it was very possible that these people wanted him because of his eyes. Naruto frowned, he really didn't like Sasuke because the Uchiha thought he was so much better than everyone else, mainly because everyone in his family had been slaughtered while Sasuke had been at the academy. Sasuke believed that because he'd been put through such a tragedy, he could get by with anything, which often than not meant being mean to Naruto. Naruto could admit that on a occasion he could be annoying, but that was because he didn't like sitting still for too long. He had too much energy to burn, and Sasuke often made rude remarks about how Naruto was an idiot and would never amount to anything as a ninja. Naruto, of course, didn't believe that, he believed that he would one day become Hokage and everyone in the village would respect him, and stop treating him like he was an outcast. It wasn't like he could control what happened the night nine tails had attacked; he'd just been born for crying out loud. Anyways, Naruto shook his head and scowled at remembering often Sasuke called him an idiot and told him that he was worthless as a ninja. Naruto couldn't help but wonder how Itachi expected him to be friends with Sasuke, when Sasuke done everything in his power to keep anyone from getting close to him. Naruto was exhausted from trying to be friends with Sasuke, and he wanted nothing more than to help Sasuke with his issues after his families slaughter but Sasuke refused to cooperate, at least with Naruto anyways. The dark-haired teen was a prick of the highest order and he never minded letting Naruto know what he thought of him.

"Hurry up." Naruto called loudly, knowing that his teammates could hear him perfectly, even though they were several feet away. "I want to get home."

"Why?" Sasuke asked. "It's not like there's anything waiting for you there, except for maybe Iruka." Naruto frowned, how long did Itachi expect him to keep trying to be nice to the asshole of a brother? Surely, Naruto only had to put up with Sasuke for so long.

"Last time I checked you didn't exactly have anyone waiting on you either." Naruto remarked, not meaning anything by it, but being irritated at how often he was reminded that he never had anyone. It was a sore subject for Naruto, who battled constantly with depression and loneliness, not that he'd let his teammates know that.

"Naruto!" Sakura yelled. "I can't believe that you said that. You know what happened to Sasuke's family, it's still a sore spot with him." Naruto rolled his eyes. He didn't think that Sakura was ever going to get over her crush on Sasuke, despite the fact that Sasuke didn't want anything to do with her.

"Don't worry about it Sakura." Sasuke said coolly. "It's pointless to explain anything to him, since he wouldn't know how it feels to lose everything at once. He's never had anyone to begin with so he can't possibly know how it feels to lose anyone." Naruto swallowed hard, hating the bitter reminder of how alone he really was. Sure, he did have Iruka, who tried to spend time with Naruto whenever he was in the village. But how many people wanted to hang out with their former teacher's all the time?

"Would it kill you to be nice once in a while?" Naruto asked, turning his head to left as he felt the threatening presence again and he frowned. If these people thought they were going to get their hands on Sasuke they were dead wrong, no matter how much Naruto disliked the other teen, he wouldn't let Sasuke come to harm, especially after Sasuke had risked his own life to protect Naruto on their mission to land of waves. Naruto raised his fingers and went through the hand signs for the transformation jutsu and turned himself into Sasuke. Naruto doubted that he would have very long to wait before they came after him, and if that was the case it would prove that they were after Sasuke and not anyone else. Too bad for them if they thought they were just going to take Sasuke and get by with it. Naruto wasn't going to let that happen, he didn't like the prick but that didn't mean that he was going to allow Sasuke to be kidnapped for the hell of it.

"Sasuke Uchiha, we finally meet." A man stepped out of the shadows, much to Naruto's surprise he was wearing a Konoha headband. Who was this man and what did he want with Sasuke? Naruto could sense that something wasn't right about this man, Naruto couldn't sense any kind of goodness in him, he seemed to ooze with pure evil. Naruto struggled to keep from wrinkling his nose in distaste, Sasuke wouldn't show any emotion during a moment like this, and Naruto supposed that could be a good thing.

"What do you want with me?" Naruto demanded, knowing that he didn't have time to run, he could feel the presence of other ninja's quickly approaching. He didn't know if they were going to be helpful or not, but he knew that he couldn't allow them to get a hold of the real Sasuke.

"You're eyes." The man said. "I need your eyes, you're the last Uchiha so it's the last opportunity to get them." The man replied.

"Why my eyes?" Naruto asked. "They aren't very developed, so I don't think they'll do you much good." He quickly made a shadow clone and sent it to fight with the Ninja's that he could sense approaching from behind him.

"Because they are the last of their kind, I need them and I'm going to take them." The man said.

"Over my dead body." Naruto replied firmly, he could hear the real Sasuke coming so he had to make this quick. He wasn't exactly the best at thinking quick on his feet, but he was going to be a better teammate than Sasuke usually was. Raising his hands, Naruto went to make more shadow clones, when the man shifted and was standing behind Naruto with a kunai to his throat. Naruto swallowed hard and threw his elbow back, hoping to catch the guy in the stomach and knock the wind out of him. Luck was not with him, and a nerve at the base of his neck was pinched, causing Naruto to collapse. The man smirked down at the unconscious teenager. He had gotten lucky to find the teen away from his teammates, giving him the opportunity that he needed. Danzo was going to be pleased to add another pair of Sharingan to his collection. Lifting the teen, the man took off running not noticing that Naruto had left his blue pack tucked away at the bottom of a tree in a place where his teammates would spot it. Wherever he was taken Naruto seriously hoped that Kakashi didn't take his sweet time. He didn't exactly know what the Nin meant by wanting Sasuke's eyes, but something told him it wasn't to help this guy see better. Naruto hoped that his teammates would actually care about finding him, Naruto knew Sasuke would be just as likely to leave him to suffer, although he had surprised Naruto during their mission to the land of the Waves, by risking his own neck for Naruto. Naruto supposed it was his turn to do the same for Sasuke. He just hoped he survived to tell the tale.

Naruto regained conscious bent over the strange man's shoulder, Naruto's head ached something terrible, even though the man had only pinched a nerve. Naruto seriously hoped that his jutsu held out a little longer, it wouldn't do him any good to get found out right then. He had to keep his teammate safe for as long as he could. He had promised Itachi that Sasuke wouldn't suffer from the same loneliness that Naruto did, and despite the fact that the two boys' didn't get along all that well, Naruto was certain that Sasuke was doing okay. Raising his hands, Naruto made the hand signs for the transformation jutsu. It had never been his best skill, but clearly, he'd done well enough to pass as Sasuke.

"Stay still or I'll knock you out again." The man said. "Keeping quiet will allow you to enjoy the last few minutes of your life." Naruto frowned; he really didn't like the sound of that.

"You can't kill me." Naruto swore, although for some reason he could feel his strength beginning to drain, and he couldn't help but wonder how the man was managing to drain his chakra.

"Well, technically, I guess we don't have to kill you, but you're going to be useless as a ninja." The man said, entering a cave and roughly dropping Naruto onto a stone table. Before Naruto could do anything, chakra chains were tossed over his chest and secured tightly to the table.

"You're going to regret this." Naruto promised, hoping that his jutsu wouldn't give out on him just yet. He needed to protect his teammates for as long as he could.

"No, I will not. The Uchiha were always a stuck-up clan." The man said. "They should have been made to suffer more for bringing the nine tailed demon here."

"Some of them were more innocent of what happened that night than you realized." Naruto replied. "I was only a baby at the time, I had no part of what the clan was planning afterwards."

"Maybe not." The Nin said, stepping aside as another man entered the room.

"Well, well, Sasuke." Danzo said. "I quite like seeing you on my table like this." Naruto scowled. He had no idea who this man was, but he didn't like him, not one bit.

"You don't have anything to say?" Danzo asked as he reached forward towards Naruto's right eye. "I'm taking your future away from you and you don't have anything to say."

"My teammates will avenge me, even if you do kill me." Naruto stated.

"With those two immbeciles that you call teammates I don't think so. They couldn't fight their way out of a shoe box." Danzo said as he reached forward and placed his fingers right about Naruto's eyes, pausing for a brief moment for bending the fingers forward and into Naruto's eye socket causing the boy to cry out in pain as he yanked the eyeball out of Naruto's head.

"Now for the other one." Danzo murmured as he plopped the one eye he had into a jar, not noticing that the eye color was blue and not completely red. When he pulled the other eye out and dropped it into the jar with the other eye, he noticed that something wasn't quite right. The eyes were not the color that they were supposed to be. He scowled into a jar before turning back to the boy strapped onto the table, instead of a black-haired Uchiha there lay the blonde haired Jinchuuriki. His eyes clinched shut and blood streaming out from underneath the eyelids.

"Son of a bitch." Danzo yelled. "I want to know how he managed to trick us."

"What do you want us to do with him?" the man asked, feeling nervous. Danzo was not a man that tolerated mistakes, and this right here in front of him was a colossal mistake.

"Dump his body somewhere, I don't care. Even if he gets found, his career as a ninja is over. I don't think even nine tails could heal his eyesight now." Danzo said. "There goes the plan to use him as a weapon against our enemies."

"Is he going to live?" the man asked as he undone the chakra chains and lifted the unconscious Naruto up onto his shoulder again.

"Probably, he's the nine tailed brat. I'm sure the beast is working on healing him now." Danzo said.

"You took his eyeballs, how can that be healed?" the man asked.

"He can stop the bleeding he can't reform what's been taken out." Danzo replied. "Which means that he's now completely useless."

"Where do you want me to leave him?" the nin asked.

"Leave him at the village gates for all I care. They'll probably take him to the hospital, but there isn't anything they can do to help him." Danzo replied as he grabbed the glass with eyes in it and slammed it against the wall. This whole mission had been a complete and total waste of time. Now he would have to plan something else to get a hold of Sasuke. Danzo would prefer to get Itachi's eyes, but the man could hardly be found these days, he hadn't been around much at all after murdering his clan.

"What do we do about his teammates? There's always the chance that I'll run into them while dumping him. Should I nab the real Sasuke then?"

"No. We're going to have to plan carefully, I don't want them to suspect anything. They might be distracted enough with Naruto's situation though that I can come up with something."

"What if he talks and tells the Hokage what you were up too?" the Nin asked.

"I don't think he will, at least not immediately." Danzo replied. "He'll probably have a hard time dealing with the loss of his eyesight and his career as a ninja. He won't immediately think of telling what he knows, if he does, I'll deal with him."

"Where the hell did that little brat go?" an irritated Sasuke asked, as they paused on the trail they were walking on. Sasuke hadn't thought that Naruto had gone that far ahead of them, normally he never strayed out of eyesight.

"Take it easy, Sasuke." Kakashi said. "You've been pretty rough on him this entire mission."

"That's because he's been more annoying than usual." Sasuke replied. "That and it's approaching the anniversary of my parents and brother's deaths. I don't think I need to tell you that I'm too interested in being around the blonde idiot."

"Something happened here." Kakashi said, his eyes narrowing. There was still a slight scent, one that Kakashi didn't believe that belonged to Naruto. Yes, it looked like something happened that led to Naruto being taken away from here.

"His pack is lying under that tree." Sakura pointed out. "He wouldn't have just left it there."

"He would if he knew someone was there and wanted to warn us." Kakashi said. "I think he knew that they were there and suspected that they were after one of you, so he done the only think he could think of and set himself up as bait."

"That idiot." Sasuke muttered. "Setting himself up as bait isn't going to do him any good if he gets hurt."

"Well, he's unique in that he can heal from just about everything." Kakashi replied as he walked over and grabbed Naruto's pack. He didn't think Naruto was going to be around here, he doubted that they would find Naruto close by.

"So, if he got taken what should we do?" Sasuke asked, wondering why this person would be after him or Sakura. Sakura was useless, there was no reason to go after her. So that left him as being the target, and he didn't like that too much. He wanted to know why he was being targeted, he doubted that Kakashi would know much about that right now, unless he already suspected someone was after Sasuke before the mission even started. If that was the case Sasuke wanted to have it out with Kakashi right, then and there.

"We should go back to the village and inform the Hokage of the situation." Kakashi replied. "We'll likely need back up to get Naruto out of whatever mess he's found himself in." Sasuke frowned, he didn't really like that idea, who knew what was happening to Naruto right then.

"Did you think someone was after one of us before this mission got started?" Sasuke asked, he didn't know if that was the case, but he really hoped not. He couldn't help but wonder why Naruto would risk his own life to set himself as bait just for his teammates.

"No." Kakashi replied. "I did not, but I suppose I should have. Because when it comes to Naruto there are always some sort of complication."

"Complication does appear to be that idiot's middle name." Sakura commented and Sasuke frowned. He didn't really like the idea of Sakura bullying Naruto, that job belonged to him. He supposed he should back off as well because he witnessed how the villagers mistreated Naruto. If he was being honest, Sasuke was curious about that. Naruto was an annoying idiot, but that didn't mean that he deserved to be put through what the villagers done to him. He didn't deserve to get beaten on a daily basis.

As they approached the village gates, Sasuke's eyes landed on a bundle sitting just outside the gates, his eyes narrowed on the orange jumpsuit that Naruto insisted on wearing all the time. Even as he was further away, he noticed that the color appeared to be off.

"Kakashi, I think Naruto's already at the village." Sasuke pointed out, as he turned his attention away from the still Naruto.

"How did he get here so quick?" Kakashi wondered. "He wasn't really gone all that long."

"Unless they got what they wanted from him and deemed him useless." Sakura said. "I can't see Naruto having anything that anyone wanted."

"He's not totally useless." Sasuke pointed out. "He know how to train hard, which is more than I can for you." Sakura huffed at him, before turning her attention to Naruto, who as they got closer hadn't moved, and now that Sasuke was closer he could see what was wrong with Naruto's jumpsuit. It had blood running down it, from his face and it made Sasuke wondered exactly what had happened, as the blood was coming from Naruto's eyes.

"I don't think he can heal from this." Kakashi murmured as he knelt down beside Naruto and placed two fingers on his neck. "He's alive though so that's a plus." Kakashi stood up and lifted Naruto into his arms. He would take Naruto to the hospital and see what exactly what going on with him, and then he would turn in his mission report. He needed to know what had happened to his young charge before he went to the Hokage with it. Kakashi was certain that the Third Hokage might have suspected that something would happen, but like in the case of the Land of the Waves mission, didn't say anything.

"What happened to his eyes?" Sakura asked, noticing the way the blood fell down Naruto's face.

"I don't know, but this tells me they were after Sasuke." Kakashi said. "Sasuke just recently activated the Sharingan. That had to be what they were after."

"So why take Naruto's eyes?" Sasuke asked. "I'm pretty sure that we look nothing alike and if they can't tell us apart they are idiots."

"Unless Naruto transformed to make himself look like you." Kakashi pointed out. "In which case, he must have guessed that they were after you from the start."

"That idiot." Sasuke cursed, but without any harshness to his voice. He didn't like the idea of Naruto risking himself for him like that. They likely would have removed Naruto's eyes thinking they were Sasuke's and then the blonde idiot would be left blind, which would mean that he could no longer be a ninja.

"Why the hell didn't he just wait for us? Why does he always have to wander so far ahead of us?" Sasuke asked, feeling annoyed with the teen.

"He gets bored easily." Kakashi said, as the entered the hospital and Kakashi took Naruto to the nearest nurse.

"If he'd hadn't been so stupid he wouldn't have lost his career as a ninja." Sasuke muttered under his breath, Sakura turned towards him having heard what he'd said.

"Do you really think that Naruto can't be a ninja anymore?" she asked quietly.

"They took his eyes, I hardly think he can keep being a ninja if he can't see." Sasuke replied bitterly. "We both know that's impossible, even for someone like Naruto."

"We don't know for sure that they took his eyes do we?" Sakura asked. "So there is still hope that he's going to be okay."

"If you believe that than your more stupid than you look." Sasuke replied, as he walked over to a seat in the waiting room and flopped down. He wouldn't be moving from this spot until he found something out about his teammate.

_"__Why?" Naruto asked, as Sasuke collapsed from the needles that were sticking out of his back. "Why would you do this for me?" Naruto dropped beside Sasuke, his hands roaming quickly over Sasuke, almost as if they were afraid and unsure of where to touch._

_ "__I don't know." Sasuke replied. "My body just moved on it's own." Sasuke hadn't wanted to die, but he'd instinctively known that he'd needed to protect Naruto from what the ICE user was attempting to do. Naruto had to survive, Sasuke had to ensure that that happened. _Sasuke remembered seeing the ICE needles heading for Naruto, and his heart had filled with so much fear and dread that his body had acted of it's own accord in order to protect Naruto. Sasuke could still remember lying there, thinking that he was going to die and join his family. He remembered how his brother had wanted him to befriend the blonde loudmouth so that Naruto wouldn't be so lonely anymore. Sasuke sighed, Itachi wouldn't be too pleased with him right now. Sure, Sasuke had thought he was dying when he'd protected Naruto back during their first mission, turns out that he'd just been knocked out. Naruto really had risked his life, and his career for Sasuke and Sasuke wasn't sure how to feel about that. He didn't know how he would even be able to begin making it up to Naruto for taking the action that he did. He knew that Naruto had wanted to be Hokage when he got older, but now it looked like that future wasn't going to happen, and it was Sasuke's fault.

"Somehow I don't think this is what you had in mind when you wanted me to befriend him." Sasuke murmured, missing his brother more than ever in that moment. Itachi would know how to fix this mess that they were in or he would at least know how to comfort Naruto during this time. Sasuke felt absolutely useless right now and it wasn't a feeling that he liked considering that he prided himself on his intelligence. He didn't think he'd ever felt dumber in his life.

"Sasuke, your back from your mission?" Sasuke looked up to see a brown-haired man with a scar across his nose ask. "Where's Naruto?"

"He's the reason we're here, Iruka." Sasuke said numbly. "He done something dumb and he got seriously hurt in the process." Iruka frowned at the teenager sitting in front of him.

"I know Naruto does stupid things, what did he do this time?" Iruka asked.

"He transformed himself into me and let himself get kidnapped." Sasuke replied. "We believe that they were after my eyes."

"We all know that Naruto isn't that great at the transformation jutsu." Iruka said, not surprised that Naruto would do such a thing for his teammate. Naruto had a heart bigger than anyone else in the village. "How did he get it to last so long?"

"I don't know and I don't care." Sasuke said. "All we know is that it looks like they got his eyes, leaving him blind." Iruka grimaced, that hadn't been the kind of news that'd wanted to get. "If he is blind that means that he'd given up his dream of being Hokage in order to keep me safe." Sasuke murmured. "That's not fair, he shouldn't have done that. If he hadn't been so dumb, he'd still have a future."

"Naruto done what he done in order to protect his precious people." Iruka said. "It may not seem like it to you, but both you and Sakura offered him friendship when no one else would. That's not something that he can so easily forget."

"Some friend I am." Sasuke muttered. "I bully him half the time."

"In a weird way that encourages him to try harder." Iruka replied. "although if the situation is as you say it is, he's going to need you more than ever."  
"I'll do what I can to help him." Sasuke promised. "I think that's something my brother wanted me to do before he died. I seem to remember Itachi saying something to that effect."

"Good, then he can't let his depression get him down." Iruka said and Sasuke frowned. Naruto and depression didn't fit in the same sentence together.

"He his depressed." Iruka said, seeing the incredulous look on Sasuke's face. "He's just really good at hiding it. He's going to need you and Sakura to be there for him in the coming days."

"You can count on me." Sasuke replied, "but I'm sure about the pink-haired moron. She's too stupid to realize that Naruto is going to need some help."

"Perhaps you shouldn't be so harsh on her." Iruka suggested. "She still has some room to grow, much like you and Naruto do." Sasuke shrugged, if he wasn't honest, he couldn't ever see Sakura being useful. She couldn't stop watching Sasuke long enough to get anything accomplished in training. Sasuke couldn't see her putting that aside anytime soon. She had a lot of growing up to do in order to make that happen, Sasuke supposed they all had a lot of growing up to do in order to form a cohesive team.

"If Naruto can't be a ninja anymore, what's going to happen to him?" Sasuke asked quietly. "It's not like he has many options, I don't see any of the villagers hiring him. For one who hires a blind person? For two he's Naruto, the villagers don't like him anyways."

"I don't know." Iruka answered. "But the Hokage will work something out, he always does." Sasuke sighed, the Hokage was a busy man, Sasuke didn't know how he would find the time to make sure that Naruto was well cared for.

"I suppose he could live with me." Sasuke suggested. "There would be times that I would have to leave on a mission, but otherwise he wouldn't be alone too much."

"That's kind of you to suggest that, but I don't know that Lord Third would go for that." Iruka said.

"Why not? It's not exactly acceptable for a blind person to live alone, especially with someone like Naruto, who the villagers can't stand." Sasuke said.

"You're both thirteen years old." Iruka replied. "And it's because the villagers not liking Naruto is the main reason the Hokage will want Naruto with a capable adult."

"So, you or Kakashi?" Sasuke asked. "I don't see Kakashi having the time for it, so that leaves only you."

"I would gladly do it." Iruka said. "If the Hokage will allow me too."

"Why wouldn't he? He knows very well that if Naruto can't see, he can't defend himself." Sasuke said.

"Naruto hasn't ever defended himself anyways." Iruka said. "he's always taken the abuse with a smile on his face."

"He shouldn't have had to go through that abuse period." Sasuke said. "I don't understand why the villagers react that way to him. Sure, he's loud and annoying but that doesn't mean he deserves the way that he gets treated."

"He doesn't." Iruka said. "But there's somethings about him that you don't know about. Things that we are not allowed to speak of." Sasuke frowned, he supposed that whatever it was had been done for Naruto's protection, though as far as Sasuke was concerned they had done a crappy job of protecting him. Naruto was still abused by the villagers, Sasuke had witnessed this on more than one occasion, though he didn't understand why. Sasuke had only seen Naruto pull off harmless pranks, that wasn't enough to make the villagers want to beat him as they often did.

"I don't think I'll ever understand." Sasuke murmured. "He's just another villager, why do they hate him so much."

"It wasn't anything that he had done physically, he couldn't have, he was just a baby." Iruka murmured. "In which case, I'm not supposed to be telling it to you. Which I believe is a mistake because as his teammates I feel like you should at least understand him a little. Maybe it would make being around him a little bit easier." Sasuke frowned, he didn't understand the secrecy that surrounded Naruto, but he knew that considering what Naruto had risked, he wasn't going anywhere. He would be there for Naruto like no one else was.

"He's needs help!" Kakashi told a nurse who had been sitting behind a desk, working on a computer. She looked up to see the menace of Konoha in Kakashi's arms, his eyes were closed and there was blood running down his face.

"Is he still bleeding?" the nurse asked as she stood up and started for a gurney.

"I don't think so." Kakashi said. "I think you know who put a stop to that."

"Then why does he need help?" the nurse wondered as she brought the gurney over for Naruto to be laid on. Bending over Naruto, she lifted an eyelid and quickly closed it as nausea rose in her throat.

"Who would do such a thing to a child?" the nurse wondered as she swallowed hard. She'd seen a lot of things as a nurse but this wasn't one of them. She'd never seen anyone have their eyes completely removed before.

"He transformed into his teammate we believe." Kakashi replied. "Because someone was after the Uchiha's eyes."

"He must really care about his teammates then." The nurse commented and Kakashi nodded.

"They're the only friends he has, although saying he is friends with Sakura is almost saying something." Kakashi said.

"Stay here and I'll come and get you when we have him settled." The nurse said.

"Unfortunately. I can't do that." Kakashi replied. "I'm not supposed to leave him alone, here."

"It's not like I'm going to kill him, someone like him is hard to kill." The nurse said.

"Be that as it may, Lord Third doesn't want Naruto left alone at the hospital. Besides he's going to want a report on Naruto's condition, I need to know what to tell him." Kakashi said.

"It's probably not going to be a good report." The nurse replied as she started rolling Naruto down the hall towards a treatment room. "I don't think we're going to be able to do anything for his eyes. His career as a ninja is over."

"That's what I fear." Kakashi murmured. "He'll think that he doesn't have anything to live for." Kakashi didn't like knowing that the happy go lucky son of his sensei really wasn't as happy as he claimed to be. Naruto would probably find a way to end things as quickly as possible just because he knew that no one would want to hire him in his condition, Kakashi just hoped that Lord Third had a plan for Naruto because otherwise Kakashi feared what would happen.

"I'll go get a doctor if you don't mind staying with him." The nurse named Sally said. Kakashi nodded, he wasn't going to leave Naruto, if the boy regained consciousness again, he'd probably be scared and unsure of what was going on. Kakashi knew that Naruto hated feeling vulnerable around people that he didn't know.

"You're a brave kid, Naruto." Kakashi murmured. "I don't know many others that would have tried to do what you did. Most people don't care about your teammates like you do." Kakashi only had to wait a few moments before a doctor rushed through the door with an irritated expression on his face.

"I don't want that monster in my hospital. You're going to have to find somewhere else to take him." Dr. Gray said.

"I will not." Kakashi replied. "Konoha is his home, he shouldn't have to go to another hospital because you're prejudiced against him."

"He's the reason my wife is dead." The man snarled, "I refuse to treat him, it's within my rights to refuse treatment to anyone that I want."

"You also have the right to find another hospital to work at." A gruff voice said from the doorway. Kakashi and the doctor turned to find The Hokage standing in the doorway. "Naruto needs treatment and you are going to treat him." The doctor scowled.

"With all due respect, my wife died because this creature attacked the village." Dr. Gray replied.

"Naruto had nothing to do with that." The Hokage told him. "He was born that night, so he had nothing to do with the Nine Tails attack, and I believe you know that."

"I don't know if there is a whole lot that can be done for him." Dr. Gray said as he turned his attention to the boy on the bed. "His eyes have been removed," the doctor raised the eyelids. "The bleeding appears to have stopped, so we don't have to worry about anything there." Kakashi frowned, it was as he suspected, things certainly didn't look good for Naruto.

"What about replenishing the blood that was lost?" The Hokage asked, from the looks of him, he looks like he's lost a lot of blood.

"That's probably why he's still unconscious." Dr. Gray said, "but I can get a bag of blood brought in and set him up for the night. There's no reason that he can't be released by tomorrow." The Hokage nodded. He needed to make some plans for the boy, to ensure that Naruto was taken care of.

"So what does this mean for Naruto?" Kakashi asked, although he already knew. There was no way that Naruto could physically continue with his career the way that he was.

"Unfortunately, I'm going to have to take his headband." The Hokage said. "He's not going to be able to continue as a Ninja."

"What's going to happen to him then?" Kakashi asked. "We both know that he dreamed of becoming the Hokage."

"That's nothing but a dream now, he's going to have to focus on other things now." Sarutobi replied.

"Like what?" Kakashi asked. "No one wants to be around him, it's going to be hard for him to survive."

"I'll make sure that he has everything he needs to survive, but he's going to have to learn to be independent."

"How the hell do you think that's going to go?" Kakashi asked. "He's blind, there's a lot of things that he can't do anymore. Protecting himself is one of those things."

"I'll make sure that he has sufficient protection." The Hokage said. "You and Iruka will be too busy to be able to watch over Naruto."

"To be fair to Naruto, I think leaving him alone during this time is the worst mistake that can be made." Kakashi said quietly. "He's going to need to be surrounded by the people that he cares about."

"He has very few of those people and we both know it. There are other disabled ninja that are able to live successful independent lives."

"We both know that none of them are blind. The ones whose eyes were damaged in such a way were either killed or died by natural causes." Kakashi said. "I don't want Naruto to have to be put to death for his disability, considering he made the choice that ended up saving Sasuke's life. He should be honored for that, not cast out into the world like no one wants him."

"You don't have to worry about Naruto, I won't let anyone hurt him." The Hokage said. "I have a plan, but it might take a while to implement." Kakashi sighed, and turned and looked at the boy on the bed. As loud and annoying as Naruto could be, he didn't' deserve for his career to come to an end this way.

"I have to find a way to tell Sakura, and Sasuke what's going on." Kakashi murmured. "When should I expect Naruto's replacement?"

"In a couple weeks I suspect." The Hokage replied. "I've had someone in mind in case something like this ever happened. Although I always suspected that I would be replacing Sasuke."

"Why Sasuke? He doesn't know about anything that happened with his family, nor does he know that his brother was responsible." Kakashi said.

"He's smart, he'll find out and then he'll hate everyone." Sarutobi replied.

"I don't think he will, at least not for a while yet." Kakashi replied. "And by the time he does, we'll be able to talk some sense into him."

"I hope so." Sarutobi replied, looking over at Naruto. He really hated the way things had ended for Naruto. He just hoped that Itachi got his message and could return to Konoha as quickly as possible. As it was there was a possibility that it might be months before Itachi could come back. Sarutobi had the feeling that Naruto would be more than happy to his old friend again. Itachi wouldn't be pleased that Naruto was left in such a condition, but he would be more than happy to take Naruto with him. The only thing now was to stage Naruto's death so that he could make his disappearance seem plausible. Sasuke had to believe that Naruto was gone in order for it to be a success. It was too early for Naruto to have fallen prey to his injuries Sarutobi knew Sasuke wouldn't fall for it just yet. But it had to be soon, Sarutobi had to protect Naruto and get him away from the village that would just as soon see him dead as they would help with his disabilities.

"Go inform Sasuke and Sakura of what's going on." Sarutobi said. "I'll stay with Naruto for now." Kakashi nodded.

Kakashi exited the room and headed down the hall. He couldn't help but wonder about the Hokage's comments. What had the man meant that he had a plan for Naruto? Good? Bad? Somewhere in between? Kakashi wished the man would share his thoughts so that he didn't have to worry about Naruto so much. He didn't like knowing that his Sensei's son's treatment by the villagers was likely only going to get worse if Naruto was left to his own devices. Kakashi wondered how Sarutobi expected that to work, Naruto was blind there wasn't much that he could do for himself anymore. Just dumping the boy back in his apartment wouldn't do Naruto any good, especially if one of Naruto's neighbors found out what was going on. Sarutobi was leaving Naruto open for attack and Kakashi didn't understand why. He didn't want Naruto to turn out to be a monster, but the way Naruto continued to be treated only ensured that that was going to happen sooner or later.

As he entered the waiting room, he found Sasuke sitting and talking quietly with Iruka, Sakura was sitting across the room staring out the window.

"Sakura," Kakashi called out, getting the girl's attention and Kakashi nodded his head towards Sasuke. If he was going to inform his students of this situation, he was only going to do it the one time. They would have to figure out what to do with the information they received from him.

Sakura stood up and walked over to where Sasuke and Iruka were talking and flopped down in a seat in front of Sasuke, causing Sasuke to glare at her in an irritated manner.

"I told her to come over here." Kakashi told the grumpy teenager. "What I have to say I'm only going to say once."

"Do you know what's going on with Naruto and is he going to be okay?" Sasuke. Kakashi nodded.

"Unfortunately, it's not good news." Kakashi replied. "Whatever was done to Naruto has left him completely blind. Aside from giving him more blood to replace what has been lost, there's nothing the doctors can do for him."

"Are you serious?" Iruka asked, his heart aching for his former student. All Naruto had ever wanted was to become Hokage so that he could gain people's respect, now it didn't look like that was going to happen.

"So what's going to happen to Naruto now?" Sasuke asked, his voice sounding stunned.

"The Hokage is taking his headband, because there's no way that Naruto can continue as a ninja." Kakashi replied.

"That's not fair to him!" Sasuke burst out, angry that Naruto had given up his career in order to keep Sasuke safe.

"No, it's not." Kakashi agreed. "But if he can't see the enemies, he can't fight them. It would be too dangerous to you and Sakura to have him along on missions."

"So what does that mean for our team?" Sakura asked. "We have to be in a three man cell."

"We'll be getting a replacement in a week or so." Kakashi said.

"Like it's just that easy." Sasuke said bitterly, "to just replace a teammate. So what's going to happen to Naruto once he's released from the hospital?" Sasuke wondered.

"He'll likely be released back to his apartment." Kakashi replied, knowing Sasuke wasn't going to like that very much.

"That's stupid!" Sasuke cried out. "If he can't go on missions, he certainly can't live alone. He won't be able to defend himself from the villagers."

"Sarutobi insists that Naruto will have adequate protection." Kakashi replied. "He's a man of his word, he won't let Naruto suffer."

"Because he's been able to stop the villagers from being hateful towards him thus far." Sasuke pointed out.

"He has a plan, no one knows what it is right now." Kakashi said. Sasuke huffed out an irritated sigh, he hadn't wanted this kind of news but he'd known there wasn't any avoiding it. He just hoped that Naruto didn't do anything drastic when he learned of his future.

"How did he take the news?" Sasuke asked.

"He's not conscious at this moment, so he hasn't been told." Kakashi replied.

"He's going to be devastated." Iruka said. "He should come and stay with me."

"The Hokage doesn't want that to happen." Kakashi replied. "I suspect that it has to do with whatever plan he's got cooked up."

"Naruto doesn't need to be alone at a time like this." Iruka said. "It wouldn't be fair to him."

"I agree." Kakashi said. "I think Naruto's going to overreact and do something incredibly rash."

"I won't let that happen." Sasuke replied. "Even if I have to move into his apartment. He's not going to be damaged, nor is he going to live alone."

"Good. I'm certainly glad to see you acting like a teammate should." Kakashi said.

"He gave up his career as a ninja to keep me safe." Sasuke said. "How do I even begin to repay something like that. He makes what I done in the Land of Waves seem dull in comparison."

"You can be a friend to him, during this time." Kakashi said. "He's going to have a hard time dealing with his disability, you can help him."

"I intend too, whenever I'm here in the village, he's not going to be alone." Sasuke said. Naruto might be facing some darks times, but that didn't mean that he was going to be facing them alone. Sasuke would be there to guide him whenever he felt like he was lost


	5. Chapter 5

The Crow and the Butterfly

Chapter 5

Itachi lay staring up at the ceiling, his thoughts drifting to Konoha like they usually did on the nights he was the loneliest. Tonight, the loneliness was worse than usual, and he wanted nothing more than to be able to be with his brother and Naruto again, and he couldn't help but wonder what was going on with the two boys'. Itachi occasionally made it back to Konoha to give the Hokage news about the terrorist group that was forming. They were going after all the Jinchuuriki which meant that they would eventually be coming to Konoha's doorstep. He worried what they wanted with Naruto; he didn't want the kid to be used as any sort of weapon. Naruto deserved much more than that.

Speaking of Naruto, Itachi couldn't help but wonder what the boy was up too. Was he a strong ninja by? He would have likely recently graduated the academy by now, so he probably wasn't too strong. Unless the hell that the villagers put Naruto put through made him work harder. Itachi imagined that Naruto had a ton of raw talent to work with considering who his father had been. Of course, Sasuke could have been right and Naruto could have been a total idiot as well, in which case was the Hokage sure about making him a ninja? Either way, Itachi wished that he could go home, just for a few minutes just to visit with Sasuke and Naruto. He missed them something terrible. Life on the run sucked and was lonelier than Itachi had ever imagined it to be. Sure, Itachi didn't have to take orders from anyone anymore, but he also didn't get to watch his little brother grow up into a talented Ninja either, or see Naruto become Hokage. He'd never be able to do those things if the Hokage never decided to tell about what really happened to the Uchiha clan.

"Itachi, are you awake?" a blue, shark like man stuck his head in Itachi's doorway.

"Unfortunately," Itachi replied, turning his head to face the man that was standing there.

"Tobi would like to meet with you." Kisame said.

"Why this late?" Itachi wondered. Kisame shrugged.

"He gets these fancies sometimes, there isn't any explaining the idiot." Kisame replied.

"I'll be there in just a second," Itachi replied, pushing himself into a sitting position. He'd just joined the terrorist group, it wouldn't do to piss the man guy off from the start, especially if Itachi hoped to find out what they planned to do with the Jinchuuriki once they caught them. Itachi would have to know how far he'd be willing to go in order to protect Naruto and the village that he so loved. He wouldn't let Naruto just end up becoming a weapon so that someone behind a mask could use him to settle a score.

Standing up, Itachi reached over and grabbed the cloak with red clouds on it, that he'd hung on the back of a chair. Wrapping it tightly around him. It was still pretty cool around, the stone house. He supposed that was because Tobi liked it cold.

As he wandered down the hall, Itachi wondered it had been an accident that the terrorist had stumbled upon his camp had known exactly who he was and what he'd done so he wondered if Danzo had sent them after him, to either deal with him or to have him join them. Itachi had believed the Hokage when he'd said that no one would know that he was responsible for what had happened So was it that this Tobi knew what had happened?

_"__I know what you done to your parents." The masked man said in way of introduction. "And the rest of your clan."_

_"__So what?" Itachi said coolly, though he was wondering how it was possible that this man knew. No one else did, so how did he come to find out about it? "Why do you care?"_

_"__It's pretty clear to me that you have some talent as a ninja." The man replied. "And I believe that you could be useful in our endeavor to ensure that there is no more war." Peace was a dream that Itachi hoped for, but he had no idea how to go about accomplishing such a goal. Was it possible that they had a plan to make it happen?_

_"__Tell me more." Itachi said. _

_"__I can't tell you too much right now." The masked man said. "Just know that you'll be with some of the most powerful ninja walking this earth. Together we can ensure world peace." Itachi frowned, he'd been warned about the possibility of a group forming, it sounded like their goal was an admirable one, but in reality, their end goal was to take over and control the Ninja nations. Was it possible this was said group? Their so-called goal did sound pretty lofty to him. The Hokage wanted him to find this group and investigate what they really wanted to accomplish, had it really been that easy to let them find him? Of course, Itachi had no warning that the Hokage was going to let it slip about what he'd done to end up a rogue ninja. He was kind of pissed about that because if it got back to Sasuke, all hell would break loose. Itachi had to keep Sasuke from knowing about the Uchiha Clan slaughter at all costs. Itachi sighed, he wasn't sure that he trusted this man, but having company would be better than being lonely all the time. If they turned out to be the group that the Hokage suspected was a terrorist group, Itachi would deal with them. He doubted they could be all that kind if they had all gotten kicked out of their villages for violent acts. They couldn't really want peace as much as he did. _

That had been four years ago, and Itachi really wasn't all that much closer to figuring out what they were really up to. He did know that they wanted the Jinchuuriki, to what purpose Itachi was hoping to find out soon. He wasn't going to allow Naruto to be captured. Speaking of the blonde boy, Itachi wondered how much Naruto had grown, not only physically but mentally as well. Did he still go around being a loudmouth, trying to annoy anyone that was around? Did Sasuke try to befriend him? Itachi desperately hoped so, he couldn't stand the thought of the two boy's suffering from loneliness when they could easily solve each other's problems.

"You called?" Itachi asked, sounding more than a little annoyed. He'd received a hawk with a note from the Hokage, and he wanted to read it, but Kisame had interrupted him before he could get a chance. He had the feeling that it had something to do with Naruto.

"Yes, you're from Konoha." Tobi said, looking down at a map of the village that Itachi had once called home.

"Yes, so?" Itachi asked, wishing the man would get to the point so he could get back to the letter.

"How tightly guarded is their Jinchuuriki?" Tobi asked. "I believe he could be instrumental in our plans, since he's the most powerful Jinchuuriki in the vicinity."

"For one he's a reckless idiot." Itachi commented. "And sadly, he's not very well guarded at all. The Hokage tried to say that he would be well protected, but I don't see that happening. Especially, if Orochimaru is going to try and start a war just you can get your hands-on Naruto."

"That's not very smart of the village leader, to not have their biggest weapon protected." Tobi said thoughtfully. "It would have been wiser to have kept him locked up and to use him in such dangerous situations."

"Naruto is more than a weapon." Itachi said coldly. "He's a human being, deserving of love and affection."

"Sounds like you have some feelings for the boy." Tobi said. "Will you be able to do the job without your feelings interfering?"

"I don't have feelings for him in the way that you think. Do you not recall what I done to my clan? I think I'm more capable of not letting my feelings interfere than you realize." Itachi replied. "It won't be hard for me to get to the boy because he trusts me. Tell me will your plans end in life or death for him?"

"Very likely death." Tobi replied, raising his head to stare at Itachi, as if to judge the man's reactions. "I've seen how other Jinchuuriki are cared for. It's likely he's mistreated by everyone around him and despised for what he couldn't control. He'd be better off dead and away from all that misery." Itachi's eyes narrowed, he didn't like the sound of this at all. What could they have planned that would lead up to Naruto's death?

"He's an innocent child that wouldn't hurt a fly." Itachi replied. "He shouldn't have to die." He really hoped that he was coming off as emotionless and cold, because he couldn't let Tobi or anyone else know just how much he cared about Naruto.

"He's nothing more than a weapon to be used. If they didn't intend to use him like that then they shouldn't have sealed the demon inside of him." Tobi replied.

"His father had no choice." Itachi replied. "He had to save the village."

"Therefore, putting the villagers needs before his own child. He couldn't have cared about the boy too much, otherwise he would have found some other orphan to use." Tobi replied. "He wasn't a good leader to make such a choice." Itachi shook his head, he disagreed with him. Minato was a hero that had given his life to save the village, sure it had ensured that Naruto leave a life of hell, but he had done with the intentions of Naruto being respected by the village. He hadn't counted on the villagers being so wounded by the attack of the demon that they would only see Naruto as what had been sealed within him. They hadn't cared that Naruto had only been born that night, to them he wasn't innocent, he was an embodiment of pure evil and he'd been treated as such. Itachi frowned he didn't want Naruto anywhere near these people. Naruto didn't deserve to be treated as a weapon, because if that happened all that made Naruto pure and sweet would be completely destroyed. Itachi didn't want to see that happen, he wanted to see Naruto grow up and achieve his dreams of becoming Hokage. It was his job to ensure that these bastards never got their hands on him. Itachi would just have to find a way to waylay their plans.

"Minato made the decision that ended up saving Konoha from further destruction." Itachi replied. "He done the only he could have."

"He put the village before his own family, that doesn't make him a good person." Tobi said.

"It makes him a wise leader, because they know that the ones they vow to protect have to come before their family. That's just the way things work, even if you don't understand it." Itachi said. "Leaders don't have the time to be selfish."

"Maybe not." Tobi said. "We can just agree to disagree." Tobi returned his attention to the plans before him. He wanted to sneak in and grab the Jinchuuriki while everyone was distracted. A battle would be a good idea, but not even Orochimaru had the proper number of soldiers to stage that kind of attack. So, he would have to find another way to sneak in.

"When would be a good time to sneak into the village?" Tobi asked. "I would prefer that it be during a time that was distracting."

"That would probably be the Kyuubi festival." Itachi replied. "No one is going to pay attention to what's going on with Naruto." Naruto however, tended to lock himself up tight during the festival and refused to come out. His abuse was usually worse that night just because it was in memory of all those that was lost during the Kyuubi attack. The pain of that night was brought back full force which meant the villagers were harsher than usual to Naruto. Itachi wanted more than anything to be able to protect Naruto from that kind of hell. That didn't mean that Itachi wanted Naruto to end up in Tobi's hands to be used in who knew what ways.

"Why does it have to be Naruto?" Itachi asked. "There's more Jinchuuriki, maybe not so close."

"He's easily the most powerful and he probably doesn't even know how to control that power." Tobi said. "Which kind of makes him perfect, he won't suspect anything."

"That would be taking advantage of him." Itachi pointed out.

"We're a terrorist cell." Tobi replied. "We don't get along on good manners all the time." Itachi frowned, he was tired and wanted nothing more than to be able to get to his room. He wanted to know what the Hokage had to say and wondered if it had anything to do with Naruto.

"If you don't want anything else, may I return to my room?" Itachi asked. "I would like to get some rest."

"For a teenager you spend more time resting than anyone else does." Tobi commented. "Or are you just claiming to be resting and getting up to some normal activities for a teen?"

"Normal activities?" Itachi asked, frowning.

"Masturbating." Tobi replied. "You don't have any interest in any woman that we've met along the way. So, you must be getting satisfaction somehow."

"Not everything is about sex you know." Itachi said. "I'm not one of the individuals that needs it to be happy." Tobi shook his head.

"If you say so, but I know how teenagers are. I was once one myself." Tobi said.

"Even if I did so such things, I wouldn't be discussing it with you." Itachi replied. "Such things are not your business."

"Perhaps your right." Tobi said. "But still, it makes me curious what you get up to in your spare time."

"I like to train and read up on jutsu's that my family created." Itachi replied. "I want to become as strong as I can. I want to bring peace to the world."

"That's our goal, we just need the Jinchuuriki to help accomplish that goal." Tobi commented. Itachi sincerely doubted that was exactly what they wanted the Jinchuuriki for, there had to be something bigger planned for them. It just didn't make sense, Itachi supposed he would have to make Tobi trust him further before they could make it so far as to kidnap Naruto away from the village.

"I'm going back to my room now, since you don't have anything else that you want to discuss." Itachi stated coolly, before turning his back to the masked man and walking out of the room. It didn't take much for him to tire of conversation with the man, but Itachi did need to know what his plans were for Naruto. He had to find a way to tell the Hokage about what he had learned tonight. The village needed to be prepared for an attempted invasion. It would be on the sneakier side, probably during the Kyuubi festival, which meant Naruto's protection should at least be doubled. The Hokage had to keep Naruto out of the Akatsuki's hands, otherwise the blonde would never see his dreams come true.

When he reached his room, Itachi slammed the door behind him. It wouldn't do for them to find out that he really didn't want any part of their plans, he just wanted to protect those he cared about from coming to harm. Walking over to the bed, Itachi pulled the note out.

_Itachi,_

_Destroy this note as soon as you read it. It's of the utmost importance that you get back to the village. Something has happened to Naruto and he's going to need your guidance. I'm going to need you to take Naruto with you on your journey. _Itachi frowned wondering just what had happened to Naruto. Why was it so important that Itachi take him? Didn't the Hokage realize that Itachi was investigating a group that wanted to kidnap Naruto so that they could put him to death and then use the nine tails as some sort of weapon? It would be a damn stupid idea to bring Naruto right into their hands. Even if Itachi was able to take Naruto, the boy would end up getting left alone for long periods of time. That wouldn't do Naruto any good, he'd always been social and friendly. Naruto deserved more than to live a life on the run. Itachi couldn't see him making it very long like that. Unfortunately, the answer was going to have to be no. Itachi wouldn't be able to take Naruto, which made Itachi's heart ache considering how much he missed the bubbly boy. Pulling out a piece of paper, Itachi started writing his reply.

_Hokage,_

_I am not the position to take Naruto with me at this point in time. I feel like it would be playing right into this group's hands, as they seek to capture the nine tails and extract him from Naruto to use as a weapon of sorts. I don't know what's going on with Naruto right now, but I really don't think it would be beneficial to bring Naruto here, he would be spending a lot of time by himself while I investigate deeper into this ongoing mission of the Akatsuki's. I don't have the time nor the strength at the time being to keep him safe. Which brings me to the point that his security needs to be doubled. They plan on sneaking in during the Kyuubi festival and kidnapping Naruto. You cannot allow that to happen as it will lead to certain death for Naruto. Maybe Sasuke can help with whatever Naruto's situation is? He was supposed to befriend Naruto anyways._

_Itachi_

Itachi hated saying no, but he wasn't going to deliver Naruto right into their hands. So, in a way saying no was still protecting Naruto which Itachi had sworn to do a long time ago. Itachi would ensure that Naruto got to see his dream of becoming Hokage came alive. Then again what if something really serious had happened to Naruto, something that he couldn't really heal from and needed Itachi's help. Could Itachi really turn his back on him, even if it was to keep him safe? Itachi didn't think so, he would go to the ends of the earth for his brother and Naruto, so perhaps he should find a way to go to the village and see what was going on. Itachi was sure it wouldn't be too hard to convince Tobi that he needed to leave, especially if he told him that it was to see what kind of security measures that the village had really given Naruto. Itachi sighed and tore up the letter, it looked like he would be making a trip to Konoha after all. Hopefully Naruto was okay, but if he wasn't there was going to hell to pay for those that had dared cause Naruto harm. Glancing at his calendar, he took note that if he left by tomorrow morning, he would get there the night of the Kyuubi festival. He didn't know if that would be a good thing, especially if Tobi caught him there, but Itachi couldn't leave Naruto to suffer.

Sasuke glared at Kakashi, hating the news that he'd just been given. He didn't want another teammate; he wanted the blonde idiot to be his teammate.

"When can we see him?" Sasuke demanded, even if Naruto was still unconscious, he was bound to wake up eventually and he was bound to be scared, especially if he couldn't see anything.

"Shortly," Kakashi replied. "But you should probably go home. I'll deal with giving the Hokage the mission report."

"I'm not going anywhere." Sasuke replied. "He's going to wake up soon, and he's going to be afraid. That's unacceptable. He's not going to be alone if I can help it."

"He's going to be closely guarded here." Kakashi said. "he won't really be alone."

"I don't care." Sasuke replied stubbornly. "I'm going to stay with him, and nothing you can do will change that."

"Fine." Kakashi murmured. "He'll be released tomorrow sometime; you might be able to help him get settled into his apartment."

"It's still a stupid idea to leave him alone." Sasuke said. "It's not like he's used to being blind, he's going to need a lot of help."

"The Hokage has a plan." Kakashi replied. "You just have to trust him." Sasuke couldn't help but wonder exactly what kind of plan the Hokage had to keep Naruto safe.

"His birthday is coming up." Sasuke muttered. "What a way to celebrate."

"We'll find something to do for him to make it special." Kakashi said. "he won't be alone."

"Unless we end up getting a mission." Sasuke replied. "In which case would mean that he would be celebrating alone. No one deserves that, he should be able to spend it with someone."

"We'll make sure he's not alone." Kakashi reassured Sasuke.

"He had better not be. I think he's probably spent too much time alone. Some of which I probably could have helped with." Sasuke said. "If I'd listened to Itachi from the start."

"Hindsight is always 20/20" Kakashi said. "You can only learn from your mistakes from here."

"Can I see him now?" Sasuke asked, tired of the conversation. He wasn't going to let Kakashi talk him out of seeing Naruto. Sasuke had to at least know that he was going to be okay.

"I suppose it would be alright." Kakashi said. "I'm sure the doctor has him settled in for the night." Sasuke stood up and glanced over at Iruka.

"Are you going to see him?" Sasuke asked.

"How can I not visit him?" Iruka asked. "Especially after what he risked for you. He deserves to have people surrounding him right now. He's probably going to be pretty scared for a while."

"He shouldn't be." Sasuke murmured as he followed Kakashi down the hall towards the room that Naruto had been placed in. "No one should ever have to be as alone as Naruto has had to be. I'm only sorry that I was so stuck up in my own issues to realize that there were others that were suffering, that had spent their entire lives suffering."

"You've been through your own fair share of suffering." Kakashi said. "No one can blame you for not noticing Naruto's."

"Somebody should have noticed what he was going through." Sasuke said. "Somebody should have cared enough to put a stop to the hell that he was going through."

"I done what I could for him." Kakashi said. "I checked in on him and made sure he was eating his vegetables, though he usually found some way to not eat them. That boy doesn't have a taste for anything healthy. Your brother used to keep the villagers off of his back as much as he could."

"So that's why Itachi suggested that I befriend him." Sasuke murmured. Kakashi nodded.

"Naruto was very fond of Itachi, and I daresay that Itachi was fond of him as well. I suspect that Naruto reminded Itachi of you." Kakashi replied. Sasuke didn't say anything, just entered Naruto's hospital room, and walked straight over to the bed. Naruto lay there, his eyes wrapped in bandages, leaving Sasuke unsure of whether the teen was awake or still unconscious.

"Hey, Naruto." Sasuke murmured. "I want to tell you that what you done for me was probably the most idiotic thing you've ever done in your life. You should have just stayed with us and maybe none of that would have happened." Naruto grunted, alerting Sasuke to his conscious state.

"I can't see you bastard; I couldn't let them hurt you." Naruto mumbled his voice coming out weak and tired.

"If you had stayed with us, you wouldn't have to give up your dreams." Sasuke pointed out.

"Sometimes ones dream isn't as important as keeping your teammate alive." Naruto mumbled. "Why am I so tired?"

"Probably because you lost a lot of blood." Kakashi said. "Sasuke's right, what you done was incredibly reckless and stupid, you shouldn't have wandered so far ahead of us." Naruto didn't say anything, just shifted his position on his bed.

"Be still, so you don't pull your IV line loose." Sasuke said, scowling at Kakashi. Naruto didn't need the man to make him feel even worse than Sasuke was sure that he already felt.

"What he done ended up saving my life, even though he ended up losing out in the end." Sasuke said. "You shouldn't put him down for being a better teammate than I was."

"I'm not trying to put him down but make him think. Serious actions have serious consequences, if he'd stayed with us, I could have taken care of the nin." Kakashi replied.

"They were Konoha Nin." Naruto said suddenly. "They wanted Sasuke for his eyes, but I think they wanted him for something else too."

"What do you mean Konoha Nin?" Kakashi asked. "Do you know who there were?"

"I didn't recognize them, but I got a clear view of the headband." Naruto replied. "It had our leaf symbol on it." Kakashi frowned, he didn't like the sound of that. It sounded like there might be an inside plot to get Sasuke. Kakashi couldn't allow that to happen, Sasuke as the last Uchiha had to be protected at all costs. If anyone got a hold of his eyes, who knew what kind of damage could be done.

"The Hokage needs to hear about this." Kakashi murmured. "He's not going to like knowing that someone is working on the inside of Konoha to accomplish such a thing."

"Naruto's needs are more important." Sasuke said.

"So is your safety," Kakashi said. "Especially if they really do want your eyes."

"I don't think they're going to try again for a while, since this plan failed." Naruto said. "The man seemed pretty pissed about it."

"Still this is something Lord Third needs to know about." Kakashi said.

"Maybe you can be a little more grateful towards him then." Sasuke said. "He made a huge sacrifice and he gave you some important information. Now stop being a dick to Naruto."

"I'm not trying too." Kakashi said. "He should have thought a little more about his actions."

"I thought enough about what I was doing when I transformed myself into Sasuke in order to keep him safe." Naruto said. "Sometimes great sacrifices have to be made so other can live their dreams."

"You do know that, you're completely blind, you won't ever be able to be a ninja, again don't you?" Kakashi asked. "That was a pretty damn big sacrifice."

"It's not like these people would accept me as their leader anyways." Naruto murmured. "Nothing I do will ever make them change their minds about me. And since I can't see what's going to happen to me?"

"I'll be taking your headband." Sarutobi stated from the doorway. "Tomorrow you'll be released from the hospital where you'll go back to your apartment."

"And how do you propose me surviving in my apartment considering my circumstances?" Naruto asked bitterly. "I can't do anything for myself."

"I'm going to make sure that you are well cared for." Sarutobi replied. "You don't have to worry about a thing." Naruto heaved a sigh, his head still ached something terrible and he wanted nothing more than to drift off to sleep so that he could forget about everything for the next eight hours or so.

"This is a great way to celebrate a birthday." Naruto murmured. He didn't regret keeping his teammate safe, but he wish he could have been strong enough to keep them from thinking that they had the right to come after Sasuke again.

"We'll figure out something to do for you." Iruka murmured, knowing that Naruto just didn't want to spend another birthday alone, in his present condition. Iruka knew that Naruto expected to be hurt. They had to find a way to prevent that from happening. Iruka couldn't stand the thought of a disabled Naruto being hurt over something that he couldn't control. Iruka would be there for him one way or the other because he wasn't likely to be asked to go on a mission outside of the village, since he was teacher.

"How are you feeling right now?" Kakashi asked, ignoring Sasuke's scowl.

"My head hurts something terrible." Naruto replied. "And I feel sick to my stomach."

"Both of which are likely a result of the blood loss." Iruka said. "I'm sure you'll feel better once you get some rest."

"Maybe, but how the hell am I supposed to get any rest here? I don't know what to expect through the night?" Naruto said.

"I'm going to be here with you." Sasuke replied, ignoring Kakashi's expression. The man might of thought that he'd talked Sasuke out of staying the night, but that certainly hadn't been the case. "Nothing is going to happen."

"What if they come back for you?" Naruto asked.

"You said it yourself, they won't try that again so soon." Sasuke replied. "So for the time being I don't have anything to worry about."

"I hope not. I don't want you to be in this position." Naruto said. "It kind of sucks."

"You know at some point it's okay for you to put yourself before anyone else." Sasuke commented. "I've noticed that you've always put other's before yourself."

"I have no reason to be selfish." Naruto said shrugging. "Nothing good comes from it anyways."

"Well you might still have your career if you had been selfish." Sasuke said.

"They were after you, I wasn't going to let them get you when I could do something about it." Naruto replied.

"You should have let me handle it." Kakashi stated. "That's what I get paid to do, aside from you teaching you how to be a decent ninja."

"At some point you should probably stop lecturing him and start acting like you give a damn." Sasuke snapped, irritated with his Jounin Sensei. "He's lost everything and you only care about teaching a damn lesson."

"That's not true. I do care about what happens to him." Kakashi stated.

"Then act like it damn it, or do you not know how to be supportive of anyone but Iruka?" Sasuke asked, Iruka's eyebrows shot up as he turned to face Sasuke. How the hell had Sasuke found out? Iruka and Kakashi kept their relationship quiet, they didn't need to hear people gripe about homosexual relations.

"That's none of your business." Kakashi stated. "I don't know what you know about that, but keep your damn mouth shut. It wouldn't be pretty if anyone found out."

"It wouldn't be pretty if anyone found out Naruto is blind either." Sasuke replied. "So, you better focus on getting him some security instead of lecturing him about what he should have done."

"Sasuke, it's okay, I probably should be lectured." Naruto said quietly. "What I done was downright reckless. He's within his right to lecture me."

"I hardly think that the hospital is the time or place for that though." Sasuke said. "You need peace and quiet so that you can rest. He's not giving that to you."

"It doesn't matter." Naruto murmured. "I don't think I can go to sleep right now anyways." Sasuke turned his glare on Kakashi, who stared calmly back.

"I'm not the reason he can't get any rest." Kakashi replied. "So don't accuse me of doing anything."

"Perhaps we're all just tired. It's been a turn of events for all of us." Iruka said, knowing that Sasuke was only making Kakashi angry. "Maybe some of us need to go home and get some rest."

"I still need to speak with Lord Third." Kakashi replied. "So I can't just go home just yet."

"I need to speak with you as well." The Hokage stated. "I have another mission for your team, that's going to take you out of the village for a couple of days." Sasuke scowled.

"You can do it without me, I don't want Naruto to be alone." Sasuke said firmly.

"You can't just turn down a mission."Naruto said. "You have to go."

"But what about you?" Sasuke asked. "You'll be out of the hospital by then I'm sure."

"I'll figure something out." Naruto said. "You know I can be pretty resourceful."

"Yes, but you shouldn't have to be." Sasuke said. "Considering what just happened. You shouldn't have to be alone."

"I'm sure Iruka wouldn't mind helping me out." Naruto said. "It's no big deal."

"It wouldn't be, but I need Iruka for a special mission as well." Sarutobi said. He couldn't allow Naruto to be around anyone when Itachi returned to the village, and Sarutobi was certain the elder Uchiha would be coming. He couldn't leave Naruto to suffer.

"I don't leave the village." Iruka said, frowning at the Hokage. He couldn't help but wonder exactly was going on. It seemed like the Hokage was setting Naruto up to be alone, for what reason Iruka didn't know, but he had to trust that the man knew what he was doing.

"It's not outside of the village, but I need your eyes for a few hours. My eyesight isn't what it used to be." Sarutobi said.

"So what am I supposed to do?" Naruto asked. "Stay in my apartment the entire festival. It just so happens that I need some groceries before I lock myself away."

"I'll arrange to have your groceries brought to you." Sarutobi said. "For the time being, it's safest for you to stay in your apartment."

"Caging him up like an animal isn't fair either, even if your pretending it's under the guise of keeping him safe." Sasuke pointed out. "He's not an animal to be locked up because you don't want to have anything to do with him."

"That's not what I'm trying to do." Sarutobi said. "Things are in motion that you have no knowledge of, I'm just doing the best that I can."

"Well, you better have plans for his safety." Sasuke snapped. "I won't see him get hurt because you weren't prepared."

"Sasuke, I would shut up while you were ahead." Iruka said, surprised that Sasuke was talking to the Hokage like he was. He was even more surprised at how Sasuke was defending Naruto. He didn't think he'd ever see the day that that happened.

"You will go on this mission Sasuke, and you will trust that the Hokage knows what he's doing with Naruto's safety." Kakashi said. "And it would be wise if you didn't tell the Hokage how he needed to take care of Naruto."

"Whatever." Sasuke muttered sourly before flopping down in the chair next to Naruto's bed. He didn't care what they thought, he was going to make sure that Naruto got the best treatment possible considering what the kid had done for wasn't sure how one could ever pay that back. Sasuke was going to make sure that Naruto got treated better though, so maybe that was a start.

"He's going to be okay." Sarutobi said. "I know your worried about what's going to happen to him, but I assure you that he will be just fine. This mission isn't going to take long; you'll be back to mother henning him before long."Sasuke sighed, he didn't like the idea of leaving Naruto alone in his new dark world. He had the feeling that something was going to happen, and it left him feeling helpless, and that was a feeling that Sasuke hated. He wanted to become a strong ninja, like his brother wanted for him. Feeling helpless all the time was not the way to become stronger.

"I'll be okay, Sasuke." Naruto said, although his voice sounded less than reassuring to Sasuke's ears. "You have to do what you have to do, don't let me stop you from doing your job."

"I can't help but worry about you." Sasuke said. "I don't want to leave you completely defenseless."

"I won't be." Naruto murmured. "I still have a few tricks up my sleeve." Not that he was certain that he'd be able to pull them off with his current lack of vision.

"I know you're an idiot, but you can't be completely stupid." Sasuke said. "You wouldn't dare try anything in your condition, you would probably end up killing yourself or someone else."

"Maybe not." Naruto said, before yawning widely. His head was hurting even more, and he wanted to get some rest, but he couldn't help but enjoy arguing with Sasuke. He'd always enjoyed stirring the other up, since he was so tightly wound anyways. Naruto liked to push Sasuke to see how far Sasuke would go before he snapped. One of these days Sasuke might actually kill him, but until that day Naruto was going to have some fun.

"Don't you dare try any of your jutsu's." Iruka stated. "The last thing you need is to burn your apartment down."

"Who said anything about setting anything on fire?" Naruto asked. "I don't tend to mess with things like that."

"I'm surprised." Iruka said. "Considering how you like to spice things up a bit."

"I can't help that I get bored." Naruto murmured yawning widely again.

"I guess we could let you get some rest." Iruka hated that Naruto was in this position, but he was proud knowing that Naruto had made such a decision in order to protect his teammate.

"You'll come back?" Naruto asked Iruka.

"Of course, I will." Iruka promised. "I won't leave you alone like this."

"Good," Naruto murmured. "I think I'll do better with you around."

"I wouldn't let anything happen to you." Iruka murmured. It would be infinitely crueler to allow Naruto to be abused further by the villagers since he could no longer see them coming. Iruka was sure the villagers would find some way to use this against Naruto.

"He's not going to be alone tonight." Sasuke said. "I'm staying with him, and I'll take him back to his apartment tomorrow when he gets released."

"I've always thought the two of you should get along." Kakashi said. "I just didn't think that it would take something like this to make it happen."

"You can leave now." Sasuke said. "He needs to get some rest, and your disturbing it." Kakashi rolled his eyes and followed Iruka to the door.

"Keep in mind that you need to get some rest too." Kakashi said. "It won't do you any good on our next mission if your exhausted."

"I don't know why we're going on another mission so soon." Sasuke muttered. "Considering what happened on this mission."

"You do what the Hokage needs you to do and you don't question it." Kakashi said. "You're meant to serve the village."

"Maybe so." Sasuke murmured. "That doesn't mean that I have to like leaving Naruto."

"I can assure you that Naruto will be fine." The Hokage said. "He's going to have tight knit security team around him. No villager will be able to get near him."

"I hope not." Sasuke murmured.

"I'll be okay, Sasuke." Naruto said. "I'll probably sleep or something anyways."

"Idiot." Sasuke murmured without the usual venom in his voice.

"Bastard." Naruto returned causing Sasuke to smirk at the word.

"Go to sleep." Sasuke commanded. "I'll be plotting the demise of any villager who thinks it's okay to cross you."

"Violence is not always the answer, Sasuke." The Hokage said. "You have to remember that these people have suffered too."

"But to make an innocent person suffer because of what they went through is unacceptable." Sasuke replied. "They have no right to take their pain out on Naruto. Naruto actually cares about what happens to them, they couldn't give a damn about what happens to him. They would rather see him dead than to succeed in his dreams."

"Time will heal their pain; they won't always treat Naruto in such a way." The Hokage stated.

"I wish I could be sure of that." Sasuke said. "But I'm not, they're only teaching their children that it's okay to hate Naruto."

"One day they won't." Naruto said. "I'm going to make them respect me."

"Don't know how you're going to do that now." Sasuke said, turning to face Naruto. "You are totally blind."

"I might still be able to change their opinions." Naruto said. "I'm not sure how yet, but I'm going to."

"Go to sleep." Sasuke said, wondering how Naruto was going to make anyone respect him in his condition. If anything, people were more like to attack him, because he wouldn't be able to see them coming.

"Stop worrying so much," Naruto said. "It's not going to get you anywhere."

"I'll worry if I want." Sasuke said. "Since you're not going to worry about yourself."

"Sasuke get some rest." Kakashi said. "Naruto don't antagonize him so much. He might calm down enough by morning to think rationally."

"rational and Sasuke don't belong in the same sentence." Naruto pipped up, unable to hold back a small laugh.

"Thinking and Naruto don't go in the same sentence." Sasuke replied, turning to face the window. He couldn't help but wonder if Naruto could make people respect him with the disability that he was facing. He wasn't sure how Naruto was even going to manage living on his own. He didn't understand why the Hokage was going to make him live alone, it was pretty clear that Naruto was going to need some help. Sasuke couldn't help but wonder if the Hokage had some sort of plan for Naruto, like he knew that that attack would happen and knew that Naruto would pull the stunt that he did. Sasuke wondered if that was the Hokage's way of trying to get Naruto out of the village, and since he didn't have a legal reason to do so, he had to make up a situation. It's the only thing that Sasuke could think of for the nin that had attacked to have Konoha headbands, unless those nin were working for someone else. In which case it meant that they might actually end up with a rebellion on their hands. Sasuke liked that idea better than the Hokage wanting to kick Naruto out of the village. It seemed to be more plausible as well.

Sighing, Sasuke turned back to Naruto to find the blonde's chest rising and falling in a steady pattern indicating that he had fallen asleep. Sasuke couldn't imagine what must really be going through Naruto's mind. He must have been terrified, knowing how the villagers felt about him, and depressed because he'd lost the ability to ever make his dream come true. He got the feeling that something big was going to be happening soon, and it wasn't going to be anything that he liked.

I really would appreciate more reviews. I put a lot of time into writing these chapters, time that could be spent on schoolwork, otherwise I'm done posting and I'll delete the story. Liz


	6. Chapter 6

The Crow and the Butterfly

Chapter 6

The next morning, Sasuke woke up with a crick in his neck, and grimaced as he sat up and raised a hand to rub at his neck. He didn't even remember falling asleep, but clearly at some point he'd felt tired enough to lay his head down and get some rest.

Looking up at Naruto, Sasuke the boy with his head turned towards the window. Sasuke frowned, Naruto couldn't exactly see so what had caught Naruto's attention.

"Can you hear the birds?" Naruto asked suddenly, startling Sasuke out of his thoughts.

"No, but it makes sense that you would be able too, because your senses are making up for your lack of vision." Sasuke commented. This could be a good thing for Naruto, perhaps he wouldn't have to give up his dreams after all. Maybe there was a way for Naruto to continue being their teammate, Sasuke really wasn't looking forward to getting used to someone knew. Naruto might not be able to see but with a little training Sasuke was sure that Naruto would be able to sense an enemy nin in close proximity. Battles would be tricky, but Naruto was known to be unpredictable. He wondered what Kakashi would think about his plan or if he would consider Naruto to be too much of a liability to the team. Sasuke could see where Naruto's lack of vision could be a problem, but Naruto's other senses could be used as well. He would certainly have to talk to his team leader about it. Unless the Hokage did have other plan's for Naruto, in which case there wouldn't be anything that Sasuke could do. He just wished that he knew what was going on.

"They sound so pretty." Naruto commented, as he pushed himself into a sitting position. "I wonder what it would be like to be able to fly wherever you wanted to all the time, without worry of being mistreated all the time."

"People are going to start treating you better." Sasuke said. "They're going to realize that you're only human and not the monster they seem to think you are." Naruto sighed, sounding a little hopeless to Sasuke's ears. He wondered if the reality of what he was facing was finally starting to hit him. Sasuke wouldn't be surprised, Naruto really couldn't be happy all of the time.

"I doubt it," Naruto said sighing again. "When can I get out of here?"

"As long as you're feeling better, you can leave now." The doctor from yesterday stated. Sasuke frowned. The man wasn't going to offer Naruto any advice on how to deal with his disability. Or how to even what he could expect to happen, with the loss of one of his senses. Sasuke didn't care for how this doctor done things, and he had the feeling that The Hokage didn't know that Naruto was just being dumped in the streets.

"I was told to treat him." The doctor stated noticing Sasuke's cold expression. "I done that. Treatment is over, the beast can now go home. Next time maybe he should be taken to the vet, maybe they can do more for him." Sasuke frowned wondering exactly what was meant by that comment. Naruto was human, he wasn't an animal. That didn't give the man the right to treat Naruto as he was.

"You're an asshole." Sasuke murmured as he helped Naruto into a sitting position. "Where's his clothes."

"They were covered in blood, so I threw them away." The doctor replied, attempting to hide a smirk that Sasuke saw. "He'll have to leave as is." Sasuke bit his lip, trying to bite back his anger. He didn't like how Naruto was being treated. He would certainly be speaking to the Hokage about it, it wasn't right, and the doctor wasn't getting by with it.

"You wouldn't treat any other patient like this." Sasuke scowled. "Why are you treating Naruto in such a manner? He's never done anything to you."

"He's a monster." The doctor replied. "He only looks like he's human. If you're not care he's going to eat you destroy you. It's probably a good thing that he can't be a ninja anymore."

"There may be a small chance that he can still be a ninja." Sasuke said coldly. "And if anyone can beat the odds, it's Naruto. Now get out of here before we have a real serious problem on our hands." The doctor narrowed his eyes at Sasuke and scowled. The Uchiha brat certainly didn't have much respect for his elders. He wondered if that was a reflection on how he had been raised by his parents. It was just a shame that his parents weren't around for him to discuss their son's disrespect.

"Just hurry up and get the little beast out of here. I don't want him scaring my other patients." The doctor said before spinning on his heels and walking out of the room. Sasuke scowled, and turned to look at Naruto, who was sitting silently with a blank expression on his face.

"I'm sorry," Sasuke said softly, not liking that Naruto wasn't showing any kind of reaction to what the man had just said. Naruto had to be bothered by it, yet there he was acting like he hadn't heard a word that had been said.

"Don't be." Naruto said quietly. "It's not your fault that he's a dick." Sasuke reached over and helped Naruto off the bed.

"Take my arm, and I'll guide you." Sasuke said, reaching out for Naruto's hand and placing it on his arm. Naruto tightened his grip, and slowly put one foot in front of the other as they walked out of the room.

"What's going on out here?" Naruto asked as several nurses rushed past Sasuke and Naruto, their loud noise startling Naruto.

"Not sure, but they could at least slow it down a little." Sasuke said, irritated. He didn't want to risk Naruto getting hurt because they were in a hurry.

"So protective." Naruto murmured, with a low chuckle. He didn't think he'd ever see the day where Sasuke was so wound up over him.

"Considering what you done for me," Sasuke murmured as he guided Naruto through the entrance of the hospital and out onto the streets of Konoha.

"Is it busy?" Naruto asked quietly, walking closer to Sasuke, hoping that Sasuke wouldn't realize how truly afraid Naruto was. Naruto had never been afraid of anything in his life but here he was now, unable to see and unable to know whether someone wanted to harm him.

"Not yet." Sasuke replied quietly, sensing Naruto's discomfort. "It's still early though, so I'm sure people are just starting to wake up. It probably would have been busier if the doctor had released you later on in the day, like he should have done."

"I'm okay with going home now." Naruto replied. "I would rather be there anyways."

"Because you are in your own space where you feel comfortable." Sasuke replied. "That makes sense."

"Maybe, now though people won't stop breaking in once they find out that I can't see." Naruto said.

"I'll stay with you as much as I can." Sasuke replied. "I don't agree with the Hokage leaving you on your own. It's almost like he's setting you up for something to happen."

"He wouldn't do that." Naruto replied as he shuffled his feet, hoping that he wouldn't come across anything that would trip him. "I just think he's got some sort of plan that he's not telling anyone about."

"If you're a part of the plan, he needs to tell you what he's up too so that you know what to expect." Sasuke replied. "We're at your apartment so raise your foot and step up." Naruto lifted his foot onto the step and raised his foot to move to the next step. It took a few minutes before they reached the top of the stairs, Sasuke glaring at the citizens that shot hateful glares in Naruto's direction.

"Your neighbors aren't very friendly." Sasuke said as they entered Naruto's apartment, slamming the door behind. Leaving Naruto alone was not a good idea, who knew what the neighbors might try.

"I ignore them." Naruto said, as he released Sasuke's arm and outstretched his own, placing it on the wall, and using the wall to navigate to his bed. Where he flopped down with a heavy sigh.

"This isn't right." Sasuke murmured. "You shouldn't have to be alone right now."

"I'm not, you're with me." Naruto replied, turning his head in Sasuke's direction.

"We both know that I have to leave tomorrow for that stupid mission." Sasuke said sourly. "Personally, we have more important things to worry about."

"It's your job, you have to protect the village." Naruto said. "I wish I could go with you."

"There might be a way." Sasuke said. "You might not be able to see but you can sense when the enemy is near."

"It still wouldn't work." A voice said from the doorway. "He would still be too much of a liability, he wouldn't be able to fight, and in the middle of a battle we wouldn't have the time to protect him."

"What the hell are you doing here?" Sasuke asked, irritably at seeing his sensei standing in the doorway.

"We're leaving for the mission early." Kakashi replied, "and I was told about Naruto's discharge."

"He shouldn't have been discharged like that." Sasuke said. "Why the heck is he being left alone? If we can't defend him during a battle, he certainly can't defend himself here."

"Sasuke, you're worrying too much." Kakashi said patiently. "The Hokage has a plan, he's not going to do anything that will lead to Naruto being harmed."

"Leaving him alone is one way to guarantee that he gets hurt." Sasuke said. "I don't know why no one has thought about that. Besides tomorrow is Naruto's birthday, he shouldn't have to celebrate alone."

"I'm used to it Sasuke," Naruto stated quietly from where he was lying on his bed. "If anything, I'm not used to celebrating with anyone else."

"That's not right." Sasuke said. "You should be with the people that love you." He couldn't stand the thought of Naruto being alone. No one should ever be alone on their birthday.

"You might want to rethink that statement." Naruto said quietly and Sasuke frowned wondering why his last statement bothered Naruto so much. As Sasuke thought about it for a moment, it dawned on him that he had mentioned that Naruto should be surrounded by people that loved him. He hadn't even considered that Naruto didn't have many people that cared for him much less even liked him. That bothered Sasuke to no end, no one should be as despised as Naruto was, no matter what was wrong with them.

"Naruto." Sasuke said quietly, he didn't know how to recover from that kind of blunder. He hadn't set out to make Naruto feel bad, but he had opened his big mouth.

"Don't worry about it." Naruto said quietly, trying to keep his voice even. "I'm used to it. You should probably go and get ready for your mission."

"What about you?" Sasuke asked. "What are you going to be doing?"

"I won't be leaving my apartment." Naruto replied. "I might go back to sleep for a little while."

"It's still early." Sasuke said. Naruto shrugged.

"It's not like I have anything else to do, I can't exactly clean in my condition. Not that I would want too."

"You should, you might end up tripping over something and breaking your neck." Sasuke muttered as he glanced around the apartment at the clothes and empty food containers that the littered the small area.

"Wouldn't that be better?" Naruto muttered, wondering if he could manage to find his hidden kunai's. He kept them hidden to keep the villagers from finding them, now it seemed he would have need of them. All his hope and dreams were over, and it looked like for some reason that the Hokage wanted to keep him away from everyone that he cared about. If that was the case perhaps ending things would make things better for everyone around him. They wouldn't have to worry about protecting the blind boy. He would make things easier for everyone involved.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" Sasuke asked quietly. "I don't want to leave you alone like this."

"You have a job to do." Naruto said softly. "You shouldn't let me keep you from doing it. One of us should be able to accomplish their dreams."

"You could still be chasing yours if you had waited for me before pulling off such a scheme." Kakashi said.

"Enough about that dammit." Sasuke snapped. "He doesn't need to hear about that right now. I'm sure he has enough on his mind without you being a judgmental prick."

"Sasuke," Naruto warned softly. "It's his job to lecture me."

"He's past lecturing you." Sasuke snapped. "He's chewing at like a dog on a bone, he won't let it go. I would say that you understand more clearly what you should have and shouldn't have done." Naruto chuckled.

"If I didn't know any better, I would say that you make a good guard dog." Naruto told him.

"I'm no dog." Sasuke said, annoyed. He supposed he should go get ready for the mission. He just didn't want to leave Naruto alone; he had the feeling that Naruto might try something, and he didn't want Naruto to succeed.

"Go get ready for your mission." Naruto said. "We both know that you want to go."

"You won't do anything stupid while I'm gone?" Sasuke asked. Naruto shook his head but refused to open his mouth. He didn't want to outright lie to Sasuke, because he deserved more than that. Perhaps it would be better if he tried to sneak out of the village to accomplish his goal.

"I'll be okay," Naruto reassured him. "I'm not going anywhere."

"It wouldn't be safe for you to go anywhere." Kakashi said.

"No need to remind me that I'm pretty much hated by all." Naruto replied before turning his head towards his open window when he heard the sound of thunder approaching. He wished Kakashi would just go away and leave him to his thoughts.

"Not by everyone." Sasuke said. "And one day they will see that you have a big heart."

"I don't know." Naruto replied, before yawning. "Go get ready, I'll be here when you get back." Sasuke nodded and frowned, he couldn't quite put his finger on it but he was worried about Naruto. He didn't know a person that wouldn't be depressed over everything that Naruto had lost, but that depression was sure to get worse because of the things that Naruto fought on a daily basis.

"Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone." Sasuke said, glancing back at Naruto. He couldn't help but worry that Naruto was up to something, was perhaps plotting something, no one could be as cool about losing everything as Naruto was acting.

"He really needs someone to stay with him." Sasuke murmured. "it's really not fair to him to be doing this."

"Like I said…" Kakashi started.

"The Hokage has a plan." Sasuke muttered. "But I don't understand it."

"You're not supposed too." Kakashi replied as he looked over at his young charge. Naruto's head was turned towards the window, he was probably listening to the approaching thunder. "He's going to be okay," Kakashi murmured. "I believe that everything will work out the way it's supposed too."

"I hope your right Kakashi sensei" Naruto murmured as he lay back on his bed. The thunder was getting louder, and if he was being honest it was starting to give him a headache.

"Rest easy, Naruto." Kakashi said quietly.

"You don't have to worry so much." Naruto murmured, "I'll be fine." Even so his heart started pounding in his chest the moment that he heard the door close behind his team members, or rather his former team members. Naruto felt tears well in his eyes as he sat up and scooted back so that his back was against the wall and drew his knees up to his chest. The thunder was rumbling loudly now, making Naruto's heart pound faster. Naruto knew that physically he would be okay, the thunder couldn't hurt him, but the noise level was more than his sensitive senses could handle, and he wanted nothing more than for Iruka to be there with him. He would understand Naruto's fear and would know how to comfort him. As Naruto lay his head on his knees, he wrapped his arms tightly around his legs.

"It's going to be okay." A soft voice said, placing an arm on Naruto's shoulder. "you don't have to be afraid. It's just a storm and it will pass." Naruto raised his head to look in the direction that the voice had come from.

"It's not the storm itself I'm afraid of." Naruto murmured. "I know that it will pass."

"You have nothing to be afraid, all difficult times will come to an end eventually." The man said, frowning at the blonde boy on the bed. It was like Naruto didn't even recognize him. Why did the Hokage think it was imperative that he come to Naruto's apartment, aside from Naruto being afraid of the storm he was doing okay from what Itachi could tell.

"And I wonder what you know about hard times?" Naruto wondered. "Things just got even harder for me."

"You have never let any of the trouble you've been through bother you before." The man said.

"Things have changed since then." Naruto murmured. "None of what I wanted can happen now."

"You can do anything that you put your mind too." Itachi said, wondering why Naruto was sounding so depressed. Was this why the Hokage had wanted him to come back to the village?

"Somethings are now beyond my capabilities." Naruto murmured. "Though I wouldn't expect a stranger to understand."

"You're right I don't understand." Itachi said, taking note of the way that Naruto kept his face away from him. Something was off about Naruto, perhaps it was because Naruto's depression seemed louder than before, but Itachi wasn't sure. If it was just depression why did the Hokage feel the need to bring Itachi back, when the man knew very well what would happen to Itachi if he just happened to get caught. Of course, Itachi's abilities had grown since he'd left the village but if Kakashi Hatake were to come after him, Itachi wasn't sure that he could defeat the man.

"What's going on with you?" Itachi wondered, he didn't like this side of Naruto. The blonde boy had always been laughing and smile no matter how badly he'd been treated. So, to see the teen looking so defeated bothered Itachi more than he was willing to admit. He wondered if the Hokage suspected that Naruto was going to try and take his life. Itachi hoped that wasn't the case, because Itachi would have no choice but to stop him.

"Life happens when you make plans, so they say." Naruto murmured. "things are different now from when I was younger. Not that I expect a stranger to understand." Itachi frowned. That hadn't answered his question in the slightest.

"I don't know why I'm telling a stranger this." Naruto said as he wiped his eyes on his sleeves. "I'm sure you're just one of the villagers that wants to hurt me even though I didn't do anything to you."

"I'm not a villager, and not everyone wants to hurt you." Itachi said darkly. He hated that Naruto still expected people to hurt him. Wouldn't the villagers have figured things out for themselves? Or were they so stuck in their own pain that they didn't recognize that they were harming an innocent child?

"Surely, the villagers don't insist on beating you still." Itachi said. "They should know better by now."

"There is no time limit on grief." Naruto stated. "They won't ever see me as anything but the creature that took their loved one's lives."

"You can change their opinions if you work hard." Itachi said. "Wasn't that what you want to do to begin with?"

"Like I said, somethings changed, and somethings became impossible to accomplish." Naruto replied.

"I think the only thing that has changed is your attitude." Itachi replied. "It's not the same attitude that you used to have."

"What would you know about that?" Naruto replied. "I've always been alone, and I always will be alone. Although Sasuke might be here as much as he can."

"I have to go speak to the Hokage." Itachi murmured. He couldn't stand being here, around the depressed child on the bed. He didn't know what was going on, but he didn't like it. He'd never seen Naruto like this before, and it only served to hurt Itachi more to see him like that.

"No one asked you to come here anyways." Naruto murmured, embarrassed that he'd been caught crying over a thunderstorm. They didn't used to bother him, but with his loss of vision the thunder was much louder than it used to be, and it scared him something terrible. He hoped that when Sasuke got back, he would be understanding of that and not a total asshole over it. Naruto didn't know why but when he heard the stranger leave his apartment, his heart dropped, and he could feel the lack of comfort coming from his apartment.

"Please end soon!" Naruto murmured, flinching as another loud boom of thunder sounded. Naruto raised his hands to ears and pressed hard, hoping to block out the sound. He hated this with his every being, Naruto couldn't see himself living with it for the rest of his life.

Itachi hurried through the streets of Konoha, his hood pulled down low over his face so that no one could see him. He had to see the Hokage and find out exactly why he had been brought here. He couldn't necessarily help Naruto with his depression, only Naruto could do that. He had to find happiness in his own situation no matter how difficult that situation was. Still something had been wrong with Naruto and Itachi couldn't quiet place it. Naruto had never once turned to face Itachi, so he wondered if Naruto was trying to hide some sort of scars from something the villagers had done to him. If that was the case, why wasn't the Hokage doing what he promised and protecting Naruto?

Approaching the Hokage Tower, Itachi wondered if he should sneak in through a window so that he wouldn't have to deal with the Anbu agents that were certain to be protecting the Hokage. One thing was certain, Naruto was still being abused by the villagers and that was pissing Itachi off to no end. Sarutobi had promised to keep Naruto safe once Itachi left, clearly that hadn't been happening.

Decision made, Itachi leaped up to the window and entered the office to find the Hokage sitting behind his desk, signing paperwork.

"You promised me that Naruto was going to be taken care of." Itachi said without any greeting.

"You went to see him first?" Sarutobi asked looking up, he wasn't surprised that Itachi had come in in such a way. Considering he was a rogue ninja; he'd had no choice unless he'd wanted to be arrested and thrown into prison.

"Yes, he seems to be depressed, more so than when I left. He thought I was one of the villagers there to hurt him." Itachi replied. "So why is it that he still expects people to hurt him? He was supposed to be getting protected."

"Unfortunately, we've been having some threats to the village." Sarutobi replied. "and I've had to divert his security to facing those threats. You of all people know that I can't put the needs of one above everyone else's safety."

"So as usual your putting everyone's safety above his. It's no damn wonder that he's depressed." Itachi growled. "He probably no one is ever going to give a shit about him or his needs."

"During times like these some difficult decisions have to be made." Sarutobi said. "Some sacrifices have to be made."

"He's always going to be your sacrifice, though isn't he?" Itachi asked. "He's always going to be the one that's left wondering if there is anyone out there that gives a damn. If that boy takes his own life, you only have yourself to blame."

"That's why I asked you to come here." Sarutobi replied. "I can't focus on his needs, but you can. You can take him with you and help him grow."

"I'm in a precarious situation right now." Itachi replied. "The group I'm with intends to capture Naruto. They want to extract the nine tails from him."

"And what do they want with him?" Sarutobi asked, knowing that if they managed to get that far, not only would Naruto die but there would be a massive weapon that couldn't be defeated. Which would mean the end of Konoha and the surrounding nations. Sarutobi couldn't allow that to happen.

"I don't know exactly what yet." Itachi replied. "But it's not going to be good for anyone. Naruto doesn't deserve to be used like that."

"No, it's not." Sarutobi said thoughtfully. There was one thing that he could do, but he knew that Itachi wouldn't like the idea. So he would have to keep his idea to himself. With Naruto's team being out of Konoha, now would probably be the best time to put the plan into motion. He just didn't like having to go forward with such an idea when the person, no, the child was innocent and deserved better than this to happen to him. Clearly, Itachi didn't really want to take charge of Naruto, which would leave Sarutobi with no choice.

"Keep me informed about the group." Sarutobi told him. "Let me know if I need to get all my Jounin together."

"You're okay with Naruto staying here?" Itachi asked, his eyes narrowing. He didn't know if liked Sarutobi being this accepting of his refusal. It made Itachi wonder if the man had something else in mind for Naruto and it made him wonder if he shouldn't just go on and take Naruto with him.

"Yes, I will see what I can do for him, and hopefully make things easier for him."

"He better be okay, next time I return to the village." Itachi replied. He didn't intend to tell Sarutobi exactly when that was, so hopefully Naruto would be better off.

"He'll be fine, I can assure you of that." Sarutobi said. "he'll probably be better off actually. I'll see what I can do to put an end to his depression." Itachi frowned, he really wasn't liking the vibe that he was getting off the man. Maybe he should stay in the village?

"You still have your job to do." Sarutobi said quietly. "You still have to protect your village from the outside."

"You're right." Itachi nodded. "Sometimes hard decisions have to be made." Itachi just really hoped that he didn't end up regretting this particular decision.

"By the way when you visited Naruto did you notice anything different?" Sarutobi asked.

"I noticed that he was more depressed than usual, like he'd given up on everything that he hoped to accomplish." Itachi replied.

"Did you see his eyes?" Sarutobi asked.

"He never turned around to face me." Itachi answered. "Something else I picked up on was his fear of the storm. He's never been afraid of storms."

"He didn't know it was you, did he?" Sarutobi asked. Itachi shook his head.

"I don't think so. He thought I was a villager there to hurt him." Itachi replied. "What's going on?"

"Nothing that you need to worry about. I'll take care of it." Sarutobi replied. If Itachi hadn't noticed that Naruto was blind, what chance did Naruto stand in going off in the wild with Itachi? Perhaps it would be better for Sarutobi to handle the situation.

"You can continue with your mission." Sarutobi told Itachi, "I've got it from here."

"He'll be okay?" Itachi asked and Sarutobi nodded. Naruto would end up happier than he'd ever been, and no one would have to worry about Naruto

"Yes, I'll make sure of it," Sarutobi replied watching as Itachi made his way over to the window and leapt out. Turning back to his desk, Sarutobi stared down at the paperwork in front of him. He didn't like what he was about to do, but what choice did he have? If that group that Itachi was with, really wanted to use Naruto as a weapon of some sort. Wouldn't it be better to ensure that that couldn't happen? Not only for the safety of the village, but for Naruto's own safety as well, since he would end up dying anyways. Without giving it anymore thought Sarutobi pulled out an execution order and filled it out and signing it at the bottom.

"Cat" Sarutobi called out, knowing the agent was standing right outside his office.

"Yes?" the agent appeared in front of him, and Sarutobi handed the order to him.

"I want it done before morning." Sarutobi ordered. "That way he won't suffer on his birthday."

"What about his teammates?" the Anbu asked. "Won't they have something to say?"

"I sent them on their mission early." Sarutobi replied. "By the time they get back, it will be too late to do anything."

"May I ask what he done to deserve to be executed?" Cat asked, he was one of the few Anbu members that didn't believe that Naruto was the ultimate evil.

"He done absolutely nothing." Sarutobi replied. "he doesn't deserve for this to happen. But I have to think of the village's safety. There's a group out there that wants to use Naruto as a weapon, I can't allow that to happen. It would mean the end of Konoha."

"So, you're having him killed to keep him out of this group's hands so that you can once again put the villagers before him?" Cat asked, he didn't like the sound of that.

"I can't ignore the needs of many over one." Sarutobi replied. "It's my job to make difficult decisions that will ensure that the village is kept safe."

"I'll make sure that it's done." Cat replied. He wouldn't want to be in the Hokage's position, not when it was resulting in the death of probably the most innocent child in Konoha. "I'm just sorry that things have to end this way for him."

"You're not any sorrier than I am." Sarutobi replied. "He deserves better than this," Sarutobi couldn't deny however, that Naruto would soon be in a better place, he'd get to be with his parents again. He wouldn't have to suffer needlessly at the hands of the villagers anymore.

AN: Itachi does not realize that Naruto is blind, and not everything is as it appears so keep reading to find out more. Liz


	7. Chapter 7

The Crow and The Butterfly

Chapter 7

Naruto woke up the feeling that someone was in his apartment that shouldn't have been there.

"Hello?" He called out, his voice shaking. Naruto didn't like feeling as afraid as he since he'd lost his vision. "Is somebody there?" When no one answered Naruto felt a little relieved. Maybe he was just imagining things, it wasn't too hard to consider since he was always afraid that someone was going to hurt him.

Just when he thought he was safe, he felt hands grip his arms tightly and yank him off the bed, making Naruto let out a fearful cry.

"Shut up, you filthy demon whore." The man said, as he tightened his grip on Naruto's arms, shoving the boy into a wall and wrenching Naruto's arms behind him, where Naruto felt ropes getting tied around his wrists. Naruto grimaced, not understanding what was happening.

"What's going on?" Naruto pleaded, his fear growing bigger in the surrounding darkness. What was this person planning on doing with him?

"A villager has claimed that you raped their daughter." The man finally replied, after pulling Naruto away from the wall and started shoving him towards the door.

"That's a flat out lie!" Naruto yelled, fear making his heart pound harder in his chest. He would never lay a hand on any of the villagers no matter what they claimed he did. "I would never hurt someone like that."

"It's a shame the Hokage has evidence otherwise." The man replied, shoving Naruto harder, not caring that Naruto couldn't see where he was going and stumbled.

"What's going to happen to me?" Naruto asked, wishing that Sasuke and Kakashi and Sakura were still in town.

"The Hokage is going to let the villagers decide what to do with you." The man replied as he got fed up with Naruto's stumbling and lifted him up onto his shoulder.

"They'll kill me!" Naruto yelled. "They won't care that I didn't do it."

"Face it, no one cares about what happens to you." The Anbu replied as he made his way down the street. Naruto clinched his hands into fists and started pounding on the man's back. He was innocent and whatever was about to happen he didn't deserve it. He couldn't understand how the Hokage could believe that he could do such a thing. What was this so-called evidence that he had? Because Naruto knew that there was no way in hell that he could actually have anything that proved Naruto to be guilty. Which made Naruto wonder why the Hokage thought it was okay to be putting him through this, why couldn't he just let him be. He could stay with Iruka or Sasuke whenever it was possible, but it seemed like the Hokage wanted to isolate him for some reason. Which made Naruto wonder if the man didn't have a more sinister plan in store for him.

Suddenly and roughly Naruto was flung to the ground and he grimaced as he felt a rib snap as he hit the hard ground.

"The Hokage says to do what you wish to him. He has been sentenced to death for his part in what happened to the child." The Anbu told the angry villagers. Naruto felt his mouth fall open and tears well in his eyes. Why the man that he'd looked up to for so long, sentence him to death without even talking to him about it first?

"Good, maybe we should put him through what that little girl went through." A villager suggested and Naruto flinched, wishing desperately that he had someone with him.

"No, I say we stone him and break as many bones as possible before slitting his throat and leaving him to die alone and unloved." Another villager suggested.

"Let's stone him!" yet another one cried out, and a few minutes later stones were being thrown at him. One slammed into his head while another slammed into his ribs, snapping them and sending waves of agony shooting through him.

"Please stop!" Naruto begged. "I didn't do what you think I did!"

"Shut your lying mouth you filthy demon. You took the lives of our loved ones when you attacked the village thirteen years ago." The villager shouted and came closer and threw a stone directly into Naruto's jaw, snapping the bone. Naruto moaned, and wished more than anything that they would hurry up and kill him, he didn't know how much more suffering he could take.

"What the hell is going on here?" a barely conscious Naruto heard the voice of the man that had been in his apartment earlier call out. Relief filled him as he realized that this stranger was there to save him from the pain that he was going through.

"He's being put to death for his crimes against this village." The villager answered.

"He's done nothing of the sort." The man called out, rage in his voice as his eyes fell upon Naruto's bloody form. This was what the Hokage had meant by taking care of Naruto? Itachi didn't think it was possible to feel anymore pissed than he did in that moment. He wanted to go to the Hokage and demand why he'd felt the need to sentence an innocent child to death. Itachi stepped forward and stood in front of the now unconscious Naruto.

"I'm not letting you harm him anymore, he's in agony." Itachi said, he wanted to pick some stones up and throw them at the villagers. Rage filled him as he imagined the fear that Naruto must have been feeling,

"The Hokage ordered him to be put to death!" The Anbu stated as he moved forward to remove Itachi from his position in front of Naruto.

"The Hokage is a fool" Itachi said, as he lowered his hood, revealing his Sharingan. "take another step near him and regret it!"

"The Sharingan, it was said that you were among the dead." The Anbu stated fearfully, Itachi had been a talented ninja as a child, who knew how much his powers had grown in the last four years since the Uchiha clan's slaughter.

"Stay away from him!" Itachi growled as he bent down and gently lifted the bloodied Naruto into his arms. He grimaced at the feel of broken ribs. Naruto wasn't going to feel to well when he regained consciousness unless the 9 tails started to heal him. Speaking of, Itachi could tell that Naruto hadn't even begun to heal yet and he wondered why.

"He's been poisoned." The Anbu said. "Something to make the 9 tails sleep for a little while and keep him from healing Naruto."

"There's going to be hell to pay." Itachi promised. "Naruto was an innocent child; he didn't deserve this." Itachi could tell from Naruto's swollen face that his jaw was broken, who knew how severe his internal injuries were.

"The Hokage ordered it!" The Anbu replied. "I couldn't disobey an order from the Hokage."

"Which is why I'm taking the matter up with him." Itachi growled. "This was not how he was supposed to be taking care of him." The Hokage had broken his promise to Itachi and Itachi was ready to bring all hell to Konoha for it. He had been suspicious of Sarutobi's intentions from the start. Itachi knew that Sarutobi wouldn't have much time to look after Naruto with the threat of war coming. Now there would be no stopping that war Itachi would make sure of it!

Itachi glared at the man again before taking off with Naruto in his arms, the young teen moaning softly in Itachi's arms.

"It's okay, Naruto." Itachi said gently, his heart aching for the boy. "I promise no one is ever going to hurt you again." Itachi knew that he should take Naruto to the hospital first, but he was so pissed that the Hokage had allowed this to happen that Itachi wanted to the man to see what he had caused.

"This might hurt a little." Itachi told the unconscious teenager. As he ran through Konoha, he ignored the glares of the villagers. It was a shame that such a thing had to occur Naruto's birthday. He hadn't deserved this; he had a heart of pure gold. After this there was no way that Itachi was leaving Naruto in Konoha. He just hoped that he could convince Tobi that Naruto had more uses than being used as a weapon. He could be very beneficial to them and provide information on Konoha. They needed more information before they could lead their attack.

Upon reaching the Hokage Tower, Itachi leaped up to the window, holding Naruto tightly to him to maybe prevent a little more pain. Itachi shoved his way through the window and made his way over to the desk. He was glad to notice that the Hokage was alone, Itachi made his way over to the desk and placed Naruto on it.

"This is what you call taking care of him?" Itachi seethed. "You sentenced him to death for nothing. I'm betting there was no actual accusation, you just had to have a legal reason to put Naruto to death."

"He's useless as a ninja. He has injuries that he'll never recover from. He's too dangerous to keep alive because other villages will always seek out to take the power that is within Naruto. To be fair I tried to get you to take him with you, this is your fault." Sarutobi replied calmly, not even blinking at the bloodied Naruto. It was like seeing the struggling to breath, Naruto wasn't even bothering him. Itachi scowled, where the hell was the man that had actually cared about what happened to Naruto?

"Why is he useless as a Ninja?" Itachi asked, "he hasn't even had the chance to become ninja."

"He transformed into Sasuke and allowed his eyes to be stolen." Sarutobi replied. "A ninja isn't useful if they can't see." Itachi was shocked that Naruto would take such an action for his little brother. Itachi was proud that Naruto had made the risk but was sad that Naruto wouldn't be able to see his dreams come true.

"Surely, he can still be trained." Itachi said, his heart hurting knowing now that Naruto hadn't been able to see what had been thrown at him from the villagers.

"It wouldn't do any good, he couldn't fight a battle, and we can't afford to protect him." Sarutobi replied. Itachi's eyes narrowed. He didn't like anything the man was saying, it was like Naruto's life had no meaning whatsoever. There was no way in hell that Itachi was leaving Naruto in a village that would rather see him dead.

"I'm taking him to the hospital." Itachi said. "The doctors better not turn him down for treatment."

"You can't take him to Konoha General." Sarutobi replied. "I'll have it shut down."

"What's wrong with you?" Itachi demanded. "Naruto doesn't deserve to suffer like this!"

"The villagers want him dead so that's what's going to happen." Sarutobi replied.

"Fine. I'll take Naruto to another village and get him treatment there. You won't ever see Naruto again." Itachi promised. He was going to have a talk with Tobi when he got back to the hideout. Itachi would fully participate in an attack on Konoha, for allowing Naruto to suffer like this.

"If he returns, he'll be killed on site." Sarutobi said. Itachi shook his head, it was like someone had taken Sarutobi and replaced him with a robot that didn't give a damn about anyone. He would pay for everything that Naruto had suffered though, Itachi would make sure of that.

"You better do a better job at keeping my brother safe." Itachi warned. "If I have to return and I found out he's been hurt, there's going to be hell to pay."

"So, you say." Sarutobi replied. "I'm not too worried about it." Itachi's eyes narrowed. Sarutobi really wouldn't like the consequences that he would be facing.

Shaking his head, Itachi picked Naruto up again and made his way over to the window.

"You don't have to worry about anything." Itachi murmured. "Ill take care of you from here on out. No one is going harm you again." Having made sure that Sarutobi had heard his underlying threat, Itachi leaped out of the window. He didn't know that he wanted to take Naruto to the Sound Village just yet, but he feared that he would have no choice. From the way Naruto was gasping for air, it sounded like he had a punctured lung, which meant that Itachi might have to end up doing something to relive the pressure in Naruto's chest.

"I'm so damn sorry." Itachi murmured as he made his way through the streets and towards the gates. "Maybe if I had gotten here sooner, this could have been prevented." Then again Itachi wouldn't gotten the sense that there was something wrong with the Hokage. Something about him wasn't adding up, the man that he knew would never have given an execution order for Naruto's death. Unless Naruto had done something to deserve it, but Itachi really doubted that was the case. Naruto was always kind to people, even those that often hurt him.

30 minutes from Konoha's gates, Itachi had to set Naruto down because the struggle to breath had gotten that much harder for him.

"I'm sorry you're suffering." Itachi murmured as he reached into a pocket and pulled out a senbon that had yet to be dipped into poison. Raising Naruto's shirt, Itachi aligned the senbon with where Naruto's lung was. The problem was if Itachi done this, he would have to find something to stabilize the senbon because he feared that removing it might cause Naruto's lung to collapse completely.

"I'm no medical ninja." Itachi said. "But I know enough to hopefully keep you out of too much trouble." Taking a deep breath to settle his nerves, Itachi raised the senbon and stuck into Naruto's chest, deep enough that Itachi could hear the whistling of air escaping from Naruto's chest, but not deep enough to cause any more damage. As Itachi began wrapped some gauze around the senbon to keep it in place, he could see that Naruto's breathing had gotten easier. Itachi just hoped that it would last until he managed to get him to the next village. Which would likely be the Rain village would be the best bet for Itachi to go for help. They likely wouldn't question him about Naruto's condition, nor would they refuse to treat him. Some villages had a little respect for the Jinchuuriki's, Konoha just wasn't one of them.

"Just hang on a little longer Naruto." Itachi murmured. "We'll get to the rain village in a little while and find you some help." Once Itachi was satisfied that Naruto's condition was as stable as he could make it, Itachi stood up and picked Naruto up and continued on their way.

As Itachi continued to walk his mind drifted back to Tobi and the Akatsuki. He'd told Tobi that he was going to spy on Konoha to hopefully bring back some information for them. That hadn't been a complete failure, Itachi figured out that something was very wrong with the Hokage, he just didn't know what it was. He might need to go back and spend a little more time with the man to figure out what exactly was going on. It was almost like the man was rooting for the destruction of Konoha, that in itself told him that something was seriously wrong. The Sarutobi that he once knew would do anything to protect the village, including sacrificing Naruto's own happiness to ensure that the citizens of Konoha were happy. Itachi wondered when Sarutobi's personality had so drastically changed. Was it because he was tired of his job or had something more sinister happened? Did someone else have plans for Konoha and Naruto and some sort of jutsu had been used on the man? Itachi was going to need a little more time to figure it out, but at the same time Naruto was going to need Itachi to be there for him considering that he was currently blind and defenseless. Itachi really wanted to know why Naruto had been left alone, which he must have been for the Anbu to have dragged him out of his apartment the way he had been. Just thinking about what Itachi had caught the villagers doing sent waves of rage shooting through him. He wished he'd set the Anbu on fire and then tortured each and every villager that had thrown a stone at Naruto. No one should be forced to face the pain that Naruto had gone through.

"Naruto, they are going to pay for what they put you through." Itachi promised. "you're sacrifice for my little brother won't be in vain." Itachi figured he could train Naruto to sense enemy chakra, and maybe a little more taijutsu, so that perhaps he would at least be able to fight someone off. Ninjutsu would be a waste for Naruto to learn since he couldn't see to weave the hand signs. But there was still something for Naruto to learn and that was important, especially if Naruto was still fighting his depression. Itachi would somehow manage to save Naruto from that as well. Naruto was going to finally know what it meant to be happy and surrounded by those that cared for him. Itachi was certain that once Tobi and the other's got to know Naruto, they would come to care for him. There was just something about Naruto that begged to be loved. Itachi just hoped that he didn't have too much trouble convincing Tobi to let Naruto join their ranks, considering Naruto's condition.

Sighing, a growing weary Itachi plodded forward, relieved when he saw the gates to the rain village coming up. Stopping, Itachi lowered Naruto to the ground and pulled the hood back up over his face. It wouldn't do him any good if he was caught trying to get Naruto some help.

Picking Naruto back up, Itachi continued towards the village gates, Naruto was still unconscious and for that Itachi supposed he should have been grateful. Naruto wouldn't be feeling too much pain right then.

"I should kill that old man." Itachi seethed, angry that Sarutobi had gone so far as to order the kid to be executed.

"Who are you and what do you want?" a guard at the gate asked, as Itachi paused in front of the guards.

"I don't have time to tell you who I am." Itachi replied. "But I am seeking help for my friend here. His own village refused to treat him."

"What happened?" the guard asked leaning over to look at Naruto, whose face was pale, and his jaw was badly swollen.

"His village decided that he was no longer useful as a ninja and they were going to get rid of him." Itachi replied. "I took an objection to that and removed him from the village."

"The hospital is only a few blocks away; he won't be refused treatment no matter what condition he is in." the guard said and Itachi nodded his thanks before jogging off in the direction that the guard had pointed him. Itachi just hoped that at some point the nine tailed demon would wake up and start healing Naruto. Itachi didn't want to keep Naruto in a close proximity to Konoha. He wanted to get Naruto as far away as possible, because Itachi wouldn't be surprised if that clown of a Hokage sent someone after him. Itachi wasn't going to take that risk, not that he couldn't protect Naruto, because he damn well could.

Upon entering the hospital, one of the doctors took immediate notice and pulled a gurney over to where Itachi was standing with Naruto.

"Does he have any kind of allergies that we need worry about?" the doctor asked wondering who in the hell could hurt a child so bad.

"He's a Jinchuuriki." Itachi said quietly. "but the demon's been poisoned so it might take a little while for him to wake up and start to heal him. He's has punctured lung that I've already had to relieve the pressure from once."

"We'll take care of him." The grey-haired doctor promised. "Jinchuuriki or not, no child deserves to be treated like this."

"I agree, but unless he has to have surgery, I'm not leaving him." Itachi said firmly. "I've done left him alone for long enough."

"I understand." The doctor nodded. "You can come back to the treatment room with him." Itachi nodded and followed the gurney down the hall and through a pair of doors. Itachi was honestly surprised that they were so accepting of the Jinchuuriki. He knew a lot of people feared their power, Naruto hadn't even been taught to control it so he wasn't the strongest Jinchuuriki out there. Itachi hoped to change that, he could be useful in the war against Konoha.

Naruto moaned softly as the doctor reached down and gently probed at Naruto's sides.

"It's okay, Naruto." Itachi soothed gently. "He's trying to help you."

"Kill me." Naruto moaned and tried to pull away from the doctors hand's. Itachi frowned did Naruto expect everyone to hurt him? What a sad world th teen had to live in, Itachi was going to make sure that he was going to change that expectation. Itachi was just sorry that it had taken him so long to realize that Naruto wasn't going to be well cared for like he had hoped that he would be.

"I promise you from here on out, you're going to be okay." Itachi said gently. He was seriously hoping to convince Tobi to not use Naruto, Naruto could be full of information for them. There were other Jinchuuriki's out there, it didn't have to be Naruto.

"Dear Kami, he has no eyes!" The doctor exclaimed as he unwound the bandages from Naruto's eyes and stared into the emptiness that was Naruto's eye sockets. "Is your village responsible for blinding him?"

"I don't think so. They were on a mission and Naruto transformed into my brother and they took his eyes thinking they were getting the Sharingan." Itachi replied. "He sacrificed his career for my brother's safety." Itachi had no words to express how grateful Itachi was for Naruto to have been willing to make such a sacrifice. Itachi would spend the rest of his life making it up to him if he had too. Naruto deserved a little respect for the choice he had made to save his teammate. He'd heard that Kakashi had been constantly lecturing him since Naruto had been hospitalized. Itachi could understand why, but at the same time Naruto needed some support since it was his life that had been changed so drastically.

"He's a brave child." The doctor commented as he probed at Naruto's jaw. "His jaw is badly broken; it might take surgery to fix."

"Now the village was responsible for that." Itachi said.

"Who could so easily do this to a child?" the doctor wondered, angry that the kid had been tortured after he'd sacrificed so much just to keep teammate safe.

"They fear him because of the power that is within him. He's never even been taught how to control it,." Itachi said. "Once he learns he'll be unstoppable."

"Is it wise to train him in his condition?" The doctor asked.

"He'll have to be able to defend himself. He'll always have people coming after him because of the nine tails." Itachi said. "I intend to teach him everything I can so that he can protect himself. I'll do a better job than that bloody village."

"Good. He seems to have a good support system in you." The doctor commented as he continued his examination, frowning when his hand prodded at Naruto's stomach and felt the stiffness. It was a sign that the kid had internal bleeding, which meant he was going to need surgery, and not just for the jaw.

"I protected him when he was younger." Itachi said. "I was promised that he would be taken care of when I left the village. I can see how well they kept that promise."

"It doesn't like Konoha is being run by a competent leader." The doctor replied. "I'm going to have to get him to surgery immediately, he has internal bleeding."

"Was it caused by the poison or the stoning by the villagers?" Itachi asked, wanting to know so that he could plan out exactly how to torture the man that Naruto had always admired.

"I'll find out when I get him in there." The doctor said.

"Back the competent leader, I believe things are not as they seem to be in Konoha. I'm going to be doing a little more digging around to see what I can find out." Itachi replied, watching as the doctor pushed Naruto out of the room. Now would be a good time to get ahold of Tobi and see what he thought about Naruto joining their ranks.

"I'll be in the waiting room." Itachi told the doctor as he walked out of the room. First, he was going to send a bird to Tobi and catch him up on what was going on. Walking down the hall, Itachi heard what sounded like a small child crying and his heart ached at the pain filled cries. He didn't know what happened, but it sounded like it must have been painful. It made Itachi think of the abuse Naruto must have suffered while Itachi hadn't been there to protect him.

"I'm so damn sorry, Naruto that I could have protected you from all of that." Itachi murmured, guilt eating at his heart. If he had just taken Naruto with him when he had first left, none of this would have happened. Although Sasuke would probably end up being blinded and having his career stripped away from him.

Exiting the hospital, Itachi found a bench and sat down. He wasn't sure where to start his note. But he had to give Tobi some info, Itachi supposed that he should start with suspecting that the Hokage wasn't who he was supposed to be. Pulling out a scroll and some ink, Itachi prepared himself to send what little he'd found out to Tobi.

Tobi,

Konoha's security is at medium strength at best, the Hokage isn't protecting the village to the best of his abilities. I suspect that the Hokage isn't who he claims to be, I become suspicious of the man after he ordered the Nine Tail's Jinchuuriki to be put to death using a made-up accusation as the legal excuse he needed to put the boy to death. I interfered and got the boy out of Konoha, I'm currently in the Village of Rain seeking medical treatment for him. I think at this point it would be beneficial to ask Naruto to join our ranks as he could provide us more information on the village. I know that you have plans for him, but I ask you to reconsider, Naruto's been dealt a harsh hand and he deserves to be able to seek revenge on the village that he's been kicked out of.

Itachi sighed as he summoned his crow and rolled the scroll up and connected it to the crow's leg.

"Take it directly to Tobi." Itachi ordered softly and watched as the bird flew off. Once the crow had disappeared, Itachi turned and went back inside. He wondered how Naruto was doing, his condition had been quite serious, he just hoped that the villagers hadn't been able to cause enough damage to severally impact Naruto's recovery.

Reentering the hospital, Itachi made his way to the waiting room. He really hoped that Tobi would give Naruto a chance. Maybe the Akatsuki could prove to be the family that Naruto had always wanted. Naruto deserved to have some good come his way for a change. He deserved to know that there were people out there that cared about what happened to him. Itachi was going to make Konoha regret having decided that Naruto's best option was to die. They would learn that Itachi Uchiha was not a person that they wanted to mess with. He would bring all the hell that they caused Naruto, down on them. Of course, Itachi would have to discover who the truly guilty ones were because he had the suspicions that something troubling was going on. Something told him that Konoha was under a bigger threat than Itachi realized, and it wasn't just from him and his group of terrorists. Whatever was going on, Itachi was going to figure it out and figure out where destroying Naruto fit into everything. Was it possible that they wanted to get rid of Naruto so that Konoha could be destroyed? Itachi didn't mind if Konoha got destroyed at the moment, he just didn't like the fact that they felt like they had to put an innocent child to death to ensure that it happened. If they could so easily do that, what other extremes were they willing to go to in order to make their vision come to pass? Itachi didn't want to think about it, didn't want to think of what would end up happening to his little brother now that Naruto wasn't there to protect him. Itachi wondered if Sasuke and Naruto had managed to get along while Itachi was gone. They must have though; why else would Naruto sacrifice himself to keep Sasuke safe? Would someone that wasn't a friend to that person end up doing that? Itachi didn't think any of the guys in the Akatsuki would ever sacrifice themselves for anyone else. They didn't know the real meaning of teamwork, though surely, they had been taught that from the moment they went to the ninja academy in their respective villages.

What if Naruto didn't pull through this? Itachi thought what if Konoha had made a poison that worked on all Jinchuuriki's? What if they were planning on wiping out all of the Jinchuuriki's so that every nation that had one was on equal standing power wise? Itachi frowned, he wouldn't think that Sarutobi would go that far. Then again if Sarutobi was being controlled by someone then what Sarutobi would or wouldn't do wouldn't mean anything. Itachi really needed to get back to Konoha so that he could do some snooping around and find out for sure what was going on.

"Family of Naruto?" Itachi raised his head when he saw the doctor standing at the entrance to the ER waiting room. Itachi stood up and the doctor started towards him.

"How is he?" Itachi asked quietly, knowing he would have been so afraid if nine tails hadn't been poisoned and made to go to sleep.

"He's going to be one sore little boy." The doctor replied. "I don't believe that the internal bleeding was caused by being stoned, just because we've had a hard time getting it under control." Itachi frowned, that would have meant that the poison would have been what caused it, which meant that Naruto would have been feeling the effects before he'd been stoned. That really made Itachi angry, how could anyone do that to a kid, a disabled kid at that. Itachi shook his head, Konoha didn't even realize what they had done. Itachi intending to go through with the attack, but now that disabled Naruto had been so badly injured. There would be no stopping him. He would seek the revenge that Naruto deserved and hopefully Naruto would be accepting of that.

"That's terrible, were you able to stop it?" Itachi asked.

"For now." The doctor said. "But I don't have much hope of it staying that way."

"Can you remove the poison?" Itachi asked.

"It's made in such a way that it intertwines with Naruto's blood cells, most likely to cause the most effective bleeding. To remove it would only speed up his death." The doctor replied. "While I can't remove it, I'm sure there is a very talented ninja out there that can remove it. Her name is Tsunade I believe, and she is from Konoha."

"I don't have time to look for her." Itachi replied. "I'll just keep Naruto near a hospital, until I can find someone that can remove it." The Akatsuki hideout wasn't too far from the Sound Hospital so if Naruto started having problems, he would take him there. He just hoped that Naruto would be honest with him when he didn't start feeling well. It could literally mean life or death for him.

"Don't let him over-exert himself, that could make the bleeding start again." The doctor told him.

"He's going to be resting for a little while." Itachi replied. "How long will the poison stay in his system; it's effecting the nine tails?"

"The effect that it has on the nine tails may wear off and the demon may start healing him." Dr. Grey replied.

"How long will he need to stay here?" Itachi asked, he really hoped the demon would wake up and start healing Naruto, though with the poison in his blood stream Itachi doubted the demon could heal that. He would just have to get Naruto to the hospital as soon as possible.

"An ordinary person would be here for a couple of weeks." Dr. Grey replied. "But Naruto may start healing within a couple of hours." Itachi nodded.

"He's going to sleeping for the next little while, but when he wakes up he's going to be very sore."

"As long as I can stay with him, I'll take care of the rest." His Sharingan could ensure that Naruto didn't hurt too much. Not that Itachi liked the idea of using it on Naruto but considering what Naruto had done for his little brother. Itachi would go out of his way to make Naruto comfortable.

"You can go sit with him now if you like." Dr. Grey stated and Itachi pushed himself to his feet. There was no way in hell Itachi was leaving Naruto alone in a hospital full of strangers.

Itachi followed the man down the hall and up some stairs and down another hall, where he was led into Naruto's room. His chest was wrapped in bandages and his jaw looked like it had been wired shut, as well as the bandages around his eyes having been replaced with clean bandages. Naruto's chest and rose and fell in painful pants and Itachi wished that he could do something to ease Naruto's pain, he also realized that since Naruto didn't have any eyes, he wouldn't be able to use his Sharingan on him.

"It's not right that he has to suffer like this." Itachi murmured softly. "He saved my brother's life, and this is how they repay his sacrifice, it's like Naruto's life has no meaning at all."

"Some people were born to suffer more than most." Dr. Grey said. "It's a sad fact but it's true."

"This kid deserves all the happiness that the world has to offer." Itachi said. "He's been abused his entire life, he deserves to know that not everyone is out to hurt him."

"Something tells me that you'll be the one to show him that." Dr. Grey said. "He's going to be relying on you in the coming days. He might get upset at not being able to do things on his own. You're going to have to be very patient with him, he's going to be dealing with a lot."

"I don't have any problems with that." Itachi said. "I'm not leaving him alone. I'm sure the world is going to be a scary place after he gets released."

"Very scary. And it won't help that he's going to so far away from home." Dr. Grey commented.

"They didn't want him there." Itachi said. "So, I done the best thing that I could." Itachi wouldn't let Naruto go through any hell alone. If he was afraid, Itachi was going to be there beside him to take care of him and reassure him that he wasn't alone.

Thanks for reading and reviewing! and I will be working on chapter 8 and hopefully get it posted a little quicker. Liz


	8. Chapter 8

The Crow and the Butterfly

Chapter 8

The minute Sasuke got back to the village, he headed straight to the Hokage's office. He wanted to give his report to the Hokage so that he could go finish out Naruto's birthday with him. He had spent the entire mission worrying about what would happen to the newly 13-year-old.

As he burst into the Hokage's office, he noticed a grim faced, Iruka was already standing before the Hokage. Frowning, Sasuke wondered what was going on. Did Iruka just finish whatever task the Hokage had him working on?

"Where's the rest of your teammates Sasuke?" The Hokage asked.

"They're coming." Sasuke replied. "I just wanted to get my report out of the way so that I could go spend the rest of Naruto's birthday with him. He didn't deserve to be alone today."

"I have some news for you." The Hokage replied. "But I'm not going to say anything until the rest of your team gets here." Sasuke and Iruka glanced at each other, this couldn't have been good. Sasuke frowned, he really wished that he knew how Naruto was doing. Sasuke had ha ted leaving Naruto alone, and it had made him irritable their entire mission. Sasuke was honestly surprised that both Sakura and Kakashi had even put up with him. He supposed though that they understood that Sasuke was only worried about something happening to Naruto.

"It's about time we caught up to you." A breathless Sakura said, upon entering the Hokage's office and finding Sasuke already there. Kakashi followed her into the room and frowned at Sasuke.

"I know that you're worried about Naruto, but you can't just leave your teammates like that." Kakashi lectured quietly.

"You mean like how we left our blind teammate alone, among the villagers that hate him, during the time they are reliving the memories of their lost loved ones?" Sasuke asked raising his eyebrows at his team leader. Kakashi sighed, Sasuke wasn't going to let him forget about leaving Naruto alone and vulnerable.

"He's no longer your teammate." Kakashi said. "He's being replaced remember?"

"He'll always be my teammate!" Sasuke snapped. "He can't be replaced by some dickweed who thinks of himself as a ninja!"

"Calm down, Sasuke." The Hokage said quietly. "the news I have to give is about Naruto." Sasuke whirled around to face the Hokage, he didn't like the grim expression on his face.

"Spit it out!" Sasuke said, not liking that the man was remaining silent. He wanted to know what was going on with Naruto so that he knew whom he had to kill.

"Sasuke!" Sakura stated surprised at Sasuke's disrespect. She knew that he had a problem with authority, but this was taking it a little too far.

"Shut up Sakura." Sasuke said coldly. "He said he had news on Naruto, but now he doesn't want to speak."

"Because I don't know how to put this gently." Sarutobi replied. "There was an attack on Naruto's apartment last night." Sasuke scowled and glared harder at the man in front of him.

"How is he? And how badly is he hurt?" Sasuke asked, getting a sinking feeling that maybe things weren't going to be alright.

"Unfortunately, Naruto passed away from his injuries." Sarutobi replied quietly. Sasuke froze as Sarutobi's words washed over him.

"I thought he was going to be okay, that you were going to look out for him." Sasuke said, he could feel everyone's shock in the room, and he hated it. He closed his eyes; he didn't even want to know how badly Naruto had suffered.

"What happened?" Iruka asked quietly, tears welling in his eyes. He hated that he'd had to leave Naruto alone on his birthday and it looked like he'd paid the ultimate price for it.

"The villagers broke into his apartment and dragged him to one of the training fields." Sarutobi said quietly. "Where they proceeded to stone him. The Anbu got there shortly after Naruto lost consciousness and they got him to the hospital, but the injuries were too many, and Naruto later succumbed to them." Sasuke closed his eyes as a wave of grief threatened to drown him. Why had Naruto had to suffer so much?

"Was it not enough that he gave up his ninja career for me?" Sasuke asked. "He lost his eyes and his career and now he's lost his life. He should have been taken care of! You promised that he would be taken care of."

"Unfortunately, because of the festival, I didn't have any extra guards for him." Sarutobi replied. "The village was under threat of a sneak attack on the night of the festival."

"Everyone has always put the villagers before Naruto's needs." Sasuke said. "It's nice to know that even the villager leader gives a damn about what happens to the orphans in this place."

"Sasuke." Kakashi said quiet, still stunned at the news. He hadn't expected to be told that Naruto was no longer among them. It didn't right to not be able to hear the loudmouth blonde. "That's enough."

"No, it's not." Sasuke shouted. "Naruto was never enough for anyone around here. I want to know why he felt the need to leave a blind kid alone in a village that hated his guts! He shouldn't have had to die like that, and he certainly shouldn't have had to die alone!" A sob tore its way out of Sasuke's mouth as the grief overwhelmed him. He could only think about how mean he'd been to Naruto, often refusing the boy's friendship because Naruto annoyed Sasuke. Now, Sasuke would have to live with that, and wonder what could have been between them.

"It's not fair." Sasuke stated, "I don't understand why we have to leave right before the festival, I don't understand why you had to have Iruka for something. It's almost like you wanted Naruto alone for some reason."

"Sasuke, that really is enough. What you're accusing him of could get you tossed into jail." Kakashi warned.

"It's okay, Kakashi." Sarutobi said. "He's hurting, and I can understand his grief. He lost a teammate, one that sacrificed his own career so that he could live. It's understandable that he's going to have a hard time with this. It's not every day that a friend does what Naruto did for Sasuke."

"No greater love than a man who gives his life for a friend." Kakashi said quietly, his mind drifting to the sacrifice that Obito had made many years ago. If it hadn't been for Obito sacrificing himself, Kakashi wouldn't be alive. He could understand Sasuke's grief and it did seem a little strange that Naruto had been left alone the way he had been. If he was being honest there was something about the man's demeanor that bothered Kakashi. Sarutobi almost seemed emotionless in the way he told them about the death of their comrade. It was almost like Sarutobi didn't even care, which was strange because Naruto had always looked up to Sarutobi and turned to him when things got especially difficult for him. Kakashi frowned and shook his head, he must be going crazy, he was sure the Hokage just didn't want to show his emotions in front of them, because he knew it was going to be difficult enough for Naruto's teammates and Iruka as it was.

"What's going to happen now?" Kakashi asked quietly, trying to ignore the sobs that filled the room. Iruka had loved Naruto like the brother that he'd never had. It was understandable that he'd have a difficult time processing what they had just been told. "will we be able to see his body, and say goodbye before the funeral?"

"Unfortunately, there was too much damage done to his body." Sarutobi replied. "No one is going to be able to see him."

"If there was that much damage done to him." Sasuke said. "he must have suffered at the hands of the villagers for a long time before the Anbu got there. That's time that you could have done something to help him."

"Like I said, the village had received a threat that I perceived to be fact and had to take action to protect the villagers." Sarutobi replied.

"As usual the villagers came before Naruto." Sasuke shook his head. "He deserved to first in someone's life." Without saying another word, Sasuke turned and stormed out of the office.

Iruka turned and watched him go, his heart bleeding for what the last Uchiha was going through, it didn't seem right that, Sasuke was losing everyone that he cared about. He wished he knew the words that would bring the young man some comfort but Iruka didn't even know what to think to make the pain that he felt a little better. If he was honest, he wasn't that anything could ease the pain he was feeling. Especially with knowing that Naruto had suffered and had died alone, which a fate worse than Naruto had ever deserved.

"Someone should go after him." Sakura said quietly. Still too stunned to know what to say or even think. It didn't seem right that the loudmouth of the group was gone forever.

"He needs to have some time to come to terms with what happened by himself first." Kakashi said. "he's not going to want a bunch of people in his face. He still hasn't even come to terms with Naruto sacrificing his career for him."

"He doesn't need to be alone." Sakura said. "What if he tries to hurt himself? Naruto was the last person that Sasuke actually cared about, and now he's gone."

"Give him some time." Kakashi murmured, wishing he knew which villager it had been that had decided Naruto should die on his 13th birthday. He wanted nothing more than to torture them, and to put them through the same pain that Naruto must have gone through.

"Will the villagers be punished?" Sakura asked quietly.

"They will not. They were acting out of grief." Sarutobi replied. "It wouldn't be fair to punish them because of that."

"But their actions resulted in the death of a fellow citizen." Iruka said quietly. "Grief or not, that's not right. Doesn't Naruto deserve to get some justice for what was done to him his entire life?"

"They deserve justice for having lost their loved ones." Sarutobi replied.

"That wasn't Naruto's fault." Iruka said, not caring that Sakura was in the room and had no idea what he was talking about. "He was just a baby."

"Sometimes hard choices have to be made." Sarutobi replied. "Since you're not the Hokage, I wouldn't expect you to understand."

"I would have expected someone that cared about Naruto to show a little more emotion about his passing." Iruka said and Kakashi's eyebrows rose. So, he wasn't the only one that had noticed the Hokage's attitude.

"If I showed emotion for every citizen that was lost, there would be a river." Sarutobi replied.

"He wasn't just a citizen." Iruka said, "He was a ninja of this village. He would have done anything for you." Iruka couldn't take it anymore, he didn't know what was going on, but something was definitely off about the man. Turning, Iruka headed for the door, he couldn't this anymore. He wanted to be home where he could grieve in peace and away from the people that didn't give a damn about Naruto.

As Iruka stepped out onto the streets of Konoha, the remnants of the festival still up. He watched as people laughed and joked to one another and he wondered how they could so easily forget about the child that suffered his entire life for them. How could they have hated Naruto so much, when he had never done anything in his life to harm them? Sure, he played pranks, but Iruka knew that Naruto had been lonely and desperate for a friend. It hurt knowing that Naruto would never be among them, causing chaos wherever he went again.

"I'm sorry, Naruto." Iruka said, his heart aching at the thought of how much pain that Naruto had experienced in his final moments. "I would have changed that for you if I could have." Iruka's heart was filled with so much grief, that he wasn't sure exactly how he would ever get over the blonde boy. Even as Iruka closed his eyes, Naruto's bright blue eyes filled his mind, causing Iruka's heart to twinge painfully in his chest. Konoha was never going to be the same without the blonde loudmouth running around, causing chaos wherever he went.

Opening his eyes when a particular loud laugh sounded, his eyes met Shin's, before he heard the cruel taunt that he made to Sasuke's face.

"That bastard demon deserved what happened to him. He destroyed my parent's lives so it was only fair that he had to suffer in his last moments. It's only a shame that he wasn't sodomized to the point that he would suffer extreme agony before he passed away."

"You take that back you son of a bitch!" Sasuke snarled, tears welling in his eyes. Naruto deserved more respect than he was getting. He wasn't to allow his teammate to be talked about like this.

"I will not." Shin snarled. "I hope he burns in hell for all eternity."

"That boy has suffered at the hands of this village his entire life!" Sasuke snarled as he leapt towards Shin. "He's been through more hell than you can even imagine."

"I hope Satan gangrapes him in hell." Shin snarled and something in Sasuke snapped and threw a punch into Shin's face, knocking him off of his feet. Before slamming his fist into Shin's face again. Tears blinded Sasuke as he could only imagine the pain that Naruto had gone through in the hours before he died.

"Maybe you should be gangraped!" Sasuke snarled, barely unable to see past the tears that flooded his vision. Every word Shin stated was a like having a knife shoved into his chest, twisting to cause even more damage. Sasuke was so enraged that he didn't notice that he'd wrapped his hands around the other boy's throat and had started squeezing.

"Sasuke!" Sasuke barely heard Iruka's voice call out, "you're hurting him let go!" Suddenly Sasuke was pulled back and fell back onto his butt. He stared down at the other boy in shock, sure Shin had made him angry with the other over what he'd been saying about Naruto. Sasuke raised his tear stained eyes to look up at the other teen, whom was starting to cough.

"You're batshit crazy!" Shin cried out before pushing himself to his feet and took off running down the street.

"What were you thinking Sasuke?" Iruka asked, kneeling down beside the shocked teenager.

"He was saying that Naruto deserved what he went through and that he hoped that Naruto was gangraped in hell." Sasuke said. "I couldn't listen to it. Naruto doesn't deserve to have those things said about him." It hurt Iruka to know that the other kid's in the village could believe such terrible things about Naruto. Iruka shook his head, nothing they said would change how those people thought or felt about Naruto. They would always believe that he was the one that had attacked the village.

"We both know how kind, Naruto truly was and that he was innocent of what the villagers believed him to be guilty of." Iruka said. "As long as we know that he was truly innocent that's all that matters."

"But it hurts." Sasuke said, looking down at his hands. "It hurts knowing that they can so easily believe all that shit about him. Why can't they see that he was just a normal kid that was desperate for a family of his own."

"I know." Iruka said gently. "I wish I had been able to spend a little more time with him. Knowing that he came to such an end breaks my heart even more." Sensing that people were starting to stare at them, Iruka stood up and pulled Sasuke to his feet. "Perhaps we should go somewhere else." Sasuke ignored the spectators and started jogging off down the street, he didn't care if they had witnessed him losing his composure. He wasn't going to feel bad for grieving for the one boy who knew as much about loneliness as he did, if he was honest Naruto had probably known more about that feeling than Sasuke did. At least Sasuke had had a family, Naruto had never had anyone at all. Would Sasuke ever stop feeling guilty for what Naruto had gone through while team 7 was on their mission? He hoped so, he didn't think that he could go through the rest of his life constantly remembering the things that Naruto had suffered through. Sasuke truly did wish that he had taken the time to notice that Naruto wasn't as happy as he was pretending to be. Perhaps then they could have become friends earlier on and Naruto wouldn't have had to be so lonely.

As Sasuke entered his house, he heaved a heavy sigh. He longed to hear his mother's voice calling out from the kitchen or his father's voice from where he was reading the paper. Even though it had been four years, he still missed his parents something terrible. The news about Naruto's death had brought all of Sasuke's longing for another family back to the forefront of his mind and he wondered if he would spend the rest of his life being miserable and unhappy. He couldn't help but wonder if he was cursed because he kept losing the people that he cared about the most.

Sighing, Sasuke slid his feet out of his shoes and started down the hallway, it was dark and cold, but Sasuke didn't care, if he was honest it kind of fit his mood. Entering his bedroom, Sasuke walked over to his bed and flopped down. He was exhausted but something told him that he wouldn't be getting any sleep for a long time.

"Naruto, I hope that wherever you are now, that you aren't suffering and you're finally happy." Sasuke said as he lay back on his bed and stared up at the ceiling. "I hope that you're with the family that you always wished that you had. I'm just sorry that you had to suffer and die alone, I wish I could have somehow stopped it." Sasuke closed his eyes, he could almost see the frightened Naruto cowering away from the villagers, knowing that everyone that cared about what was happening was not in the villager, or the Hokage had them on some other task.

Opening his eyes again, Sasuke felt the tears well in his eyes as he recalled what Shin had said about Naruto being gangraped in hell. There was no way that would ever happen, because Naruto had suffered so much in his young life that that he deserved to be in heaven for everything he'd endured. It wouldn't be right for Naruto to have to suffer all of eternity as well.

Hearing movement down the hall and approaching his room, Sasuke sat up on the bed. Who the hell would be in his house? Were they looking for something to steal or were they coming after him to mess up the job that they started on that one mission? Scowling, Sasuke pushed himself to his feet, he hated anyone intruding into his home, especially since they were interrupting his time to grieve for his teammate. There was going to be hell to pay for this, Sasuke was no in mood to deal with anyone.

Standing up, Sasuke made his way out of his room, where he came face to face with two Anbu.

"Sasuke Uchiha?" The first Anbu asked.

"Who the hell else would I be?" Sasuke asked, pissed that they were in his home. "What do you want?"

"You are being arrested for the attack on Shin Shimura." The Anbu replied.

"What I done was deserved." Sasuke said scowling. "He was mocking the memory of my teammate."

"Let's face it everyone is happy that the little bastard is burning in hell." The Anbu stated as he reached out and roughly turned Sasuke around, and shoved him into the wall, while wrenching his arms behind his back. "Now the bastard can annoy Satan, but he maybe Satan will make Naruto's torture even worse."

"He's not in hell." Sasuke said. "He had such a pure soul that he could have only gone to heaven."

"That's because there were things about him that you didn't know." The Anbu replied, while placing the chakra cuffs around Sasuke's wrists. "you're going to be lucky if they don't consider you in league with him."

"You're such a fucking moron!" Sasuke snapped. "You know nothing, and clearly you don't know how to think for yourself."

"Don't need to think for myself." The man replied. "I just do what I'm told." Sasuke scowled, he could already feel the cuffs draining his chakra.

"My Sensei will know that something is going on. He's not completely stupid." Sasuke said, he knew that Kakashi suspected that there was something wrong with the Hokage. Something wasn't right, who got arrested for getting into a fight?

"Not before it's too late." The Anbu replied. "Besides he won't be able to question the order. He knows that you are hot headed." Sasuke scowled, the Hokage really was up to something if he thought that he could just get by with arresting Sasuke for something so stupid.

"I'll cooperate for now." Sasuke said, "Until I know what the end game is, because this is all suspicious to me."

"No one cares what you think." The Anbu stated as he roughly pulled Sasuke away from the wall and started dragging him towards the door. Sasuke really wished he could kick this guy's ass, not only for how he'd talked about but for how he was getting treated.

Sasuke stayed silent, ignoring the stares of the villagers as he marched passed them. He didn't care what they thought about him, he knew their opinions about Naruto and that made them lower than dirt in Sasuke's eyes. They could so easily treat an orphan badly, because he was lonely and desperate for a family.

A few minutes later he was standing in front of the Hokage, glaring down at the older man.

"I'm assuming you already know why you are here?" Sarutobi asked, sighing. He didn't want to deal with this mess right now but the Uchiha had given him no choice in the matter.

"Yes, and I think it's bullshit." Sasuke replied. "He was mocking Naruto's memory. Naruto doesn't deserve for that to happen after what he went through."

"Be that as it may, Naruto is gone now. What they say has no effect on him." Sarutobi said and Sasuke's eyes narrowed. This man was much colder than the Sarutobi that he knew, so what the hell was really going on. The man had never acted like he didn't care about Naruto before all of this mess had occurred.

"Why do you act like Naruto never meant a thing to you?" Sasuke wondered, he didn't care about his situation anymore, he wanted to know what was going on, and if it would lead to the destruction of Konoha.

"Naruto was a hard sacrifice to make, but he was made to keep the village safe." Sarutobi replied. "As a leader you will have to make choices that no one else wants to make, I done what needed to be done."

"You done what every damn villager wanted you to do, I don't think it was that hard for you to do." Sasuke snapped. He didn't care if he was being rude, he was pissed that Naruto had died the way he did, and he wasn't protected like he should have been.

"Still for what you done to Shin; I'm going to have to sentence you to one year in jail." Sarutobi said. "Maybe that will give you time to think about assaulting someone. Take him to jail and make sure that his chakra is completely blocked." Sasuke scowled. What would this mean for his teammates?

Hearing a soft moan from beside him, Itachi raised his head to see Naruto turning his head toward him.

"Hey, kiddo." Itachi said softly, he was relieved that Naruto was regaining consciousness but sorry that Naruto was going to be hurting. There wouldn't be any way for Naruto to express how he was feeling because his jaw was currently wired shut. Which meant that he wouldn't be giving any information on Konoha for a while, but that just meant that Naruto could be kept alive for a little while longer.

"How's the brat doing?" a voice asked beside Itachi, and Itachi turned to see Tobi standing in the doorway.

"His condition is serious." Itachi replied. "There's a poison like substance in his blood stream that mimics hemophilia, which could cause problems down the road."

"Can the poison be removed?" Tobi asked, even though he had a hard heart. He hated to see an innocent child in the condition that he was in. It made him hate Konoha that much more.

"Not without potentially killing him." Itachi said. "Dr. Grey said there is a talented nin out there named Tsunade that might be able to heal him, but I don't really have time to go find her and I don't want to leave him alone in his condition."

"You think despite all of these that he can be useful?" Tobi asked, although just the site of the badly injured teen was enough to derail his plans enough to accept the abused teen under his wing. Tobi had always hated when people mistreated those that were less fortunate than themselves. Naruto was a big picture of that.

"He's full of information, he knows how tight or not tight security is." Itachi replied. "And considering how he's been treated; I don't think he'll have any problem with giving you what you want to know." Itachi knew that Tobi had a soft spot for abused kids, he just hoped that it would be enough to keep Naruto alive. Tobi nodded, noticing that the boy was awake and appeared to be in a good amount of pain.

"If the poison loses its effect on the nine tails" Tobi said thoughtfully, "will he be able to remove it from Naruto's bloodstream?"

"I don't think so." Itachi replied. "Unfortunately, it'll probably be something that Naruto deals with for the rest of his life however long or short that is."

"They had to have been poisoning him for some time in order for it to be taking such an effect on him." Tobi said. "Which means something wrong has been going in that village for quite some time." Itachi frowned, he hadn't even thought of that possibility of Naruto being poisoned for a length of time before Naruto was removed from the village.

"I want nothing more than to be able to go and slit that man's throat." Itachi snarled. "His promise of Naruto not getting hurt meant jack shit if he was allowing Naruto to be poisoned."

"That will come in time." Tobi replied. "Konoha is going to get cleaned out, and if the infection goes down deeper than we know, Konoha will be destroyed, I can promise you that. Because if they're so willing to allow this to happen to Naruto who knows what they will do to Sasuke." Itachi's eyes narrowed, he'd been so focused on Naruto and the hell that he'd been put through that he hadn't given much thought to his little brother.

"You mean that with Naruto out of the way, they'll go after Sasuke again?" Itachi asked and Tobi nodded.

"it could be too that Naruto's execution order was punishment for interfering with their plans of getting Sasuke's eyes." Tobi said.

"Which means that Konoha played a huge part in what happened on that mission." Itachi said.

"Dark days have fallen over Konoha, but I intend to clean it out." Tobi said. "Konoha will be restored to its former glory or be destroyed in the process. I don't really care which one happens." Itachi nodded, at this point he would rather see Konoha destroyed, especially if Tobi's theory about his little brother was correct. Itachi would enjoy being the one to kill the Hokage if he had really sentenced Naruto to death for saving Sasuke.

"I didn't think it was possible to hate my home village." Itachi said quietly, watching as a tear rolled down Naruto's cheek, and he reached out and gently wiped it away. "But I find myself hating them more with everything I've learned about them. Why should they be given a second chance with all the mistakes that they've made."

"Because while the villagers have hated and abused Naruto, they weren't part of what the village leaders had planned. It's possible that the Hokage isn't even the one calling the shots." Tobi said. "And from what it sounds like, he's not. He's being controlled by someone or something. What else could explain such a drastic personality shift?" Itachi's eyes narrowed, Tobi was much smarter than he acted, and he wondered if anyone else realized just how intelligent the man really was. Sure, he looked stupid and had the tendency at act like a doofus but underneath the mask, he was clearly a genius. Which made Itachi rather pleased to be working with someone like him.

"You might have to go back to the village to get your brother." Tobi said. "Especially if they plan on taking his eyes. In the wrong hands, untold damage can be caused."

"I know this." Itachi said. "If they lay one hand on him, Kami help me, I'll murder everyone in sight. If I can do it to my family, I can certainly do it to a bunch of strangers." Tobi nodded, something told him still that what had gone down with his family wasn't because of the reasons that he'd been told. He didn't want Itachi to know but he was having that situation investigated as well. It could turn out that everything was connected somehow.

Thanks for reading and reviewing! Liz PS I thought I hit publish on this chapter this morning, apparently I did not.


	9. Chapter 9

The Crow and the Butterfly

Chapter 9

"You're not going to get by with this!" Sasuke said calmly, as his arms were forced into a straight jacket and the straps fastened tightly behind him. "Somebody is going to figure out what's going on, and they are going to put an end to it."

"I doubt even you know what's going on." The guard replied as he shoved Sasuke into a jail cell. "No one knows everything." Sasuke scowled, that answer certainly meant that there was something going on. He just hoped his Sensei would figure it out before it resulted in the end of Konoha.

"I don't know for sure." Sasuke said. "But I know that the Hokage is acting suspiciously. Naruto used to adore the old man, so why would the old man have him killed in such a way. Naruto deserved to be treated with respect. He deserved to be more than a sacrifice so that the stupid villagers can be happy."

"He's being raped in hell as we speak. I don't see why his life even matters anymore." The guard replied, and Sasuke's eyes narrowed. Let them speak of Naruto like that again and see if Sasuke didn't find a way to bust out of his jail and teach them a lesson.

"Don't speak of him like that!" Sasuke snapped. "He suffered enough in life; he doesn't need to be suffering in the afterlife."

"You mean you care about the demon spawn?" the guard asked. "Didn't you know that he was the reason your clan was slaughtered?" Sasuke's eyes narrowed. He had obviously known that his family had been murdered, he'd been the one to walk in and find his parent's bodies on the ground. Sasuke closed his eyes.

_An eight-year-old Sasuke made his way home, his report card in hand, while a wide grin on his face. He'd made perfect grades and had made the loud blonde moron look like an idiot in front of everyone. He couldn't wait to get home and show his father that he could be just like Itachi, he could graduate from the academy in a year as well, if he'd just be given the opportunity._

_As he stepped onto the ground of the Uchiha compound, a bad feeling overcame him, and Sasuke paused wondering why he was getting such a feeling. Frowning, Sasuke hurried towards his home. He suddenly wanted nothing more than to in his mother's presence and listening to his father give news about the things that had gone down at the police station that day. As he stepped into his family home, the strong scent of blood hit him and instantly made him feel sick. Sasuke didn't understand what was going on, as he headed down the hall, he glanced into the kitchen and was surprised to not see his mother working on dinner already. _

_The further he headed down the hall the scent of blood grew stronger and the fear in Sasuke's heart grew worse. Something serious had happened and he didn't think he wanted to know exactly what it was. As he reached the family room, he looked in, and grimaced. The blood was coming strongest from this room, as he entered the room. He spotted by his mother and father lying lifelessly on the floor. _

_ "__Mom, Dad?" Sasuke asked as he started towards them. He didn't like how they weren't moving and the they were both surrounded by a pool of blood. When his parents didn't move, Sasuke moved closer to them. Once he was standing over them, he recognized that both them had been run through with a sword. Tears welled in his eyes as he dropped to his knees beside them, his hands reaching and grabbing his mother's shoulders. _

_ "__Momma, please wake up!" Sasuke pleaded, tears falling down his face. He didn't understand why his parents had been taken from him. Didn't they know that he still needed them? How was he supposed to grow up without them? _

Sasuke shook his head, he hated the memories of the night that he'd found his parent's. His world had ended when someone else had later told him that his brother had also been found among the murdered Uchiha's.

"How was Naruto responsible for what happened to my family?" Sasuke asked.

"You know your family was accused of summoning the demon to Konoha?" The guard said. "It's known that only the Uchiha can control it."

"What does that have to do with Naruto?" Sasuke asked, though he had the feeling that he wasn't going to like what the man had to say.

"Naruto was the demon that was summoned. Your family was murdered for summoning him." The guard replied, smirking at the look of shock on his face.

"That makes so much sense now." Sasuke said, "Why the villagers hated him so much. But still, if Naruto were the demon why would he stay in a place that hated him so?"

"He never was a bright one." The guard replied. "I'm guessing that he wanted to convince everyone that he wasn't the demon." Sasuke frowned, to his knowledge, Naruto had been born the night the demon attacked but that hadn't meant that he was the demon. Sasuke refused to believe that Naruto had been a demon, it had been just a coincidence that Naruto was born the night of the demon attack. Nothing that the guard said could convince Sasuke otherwise.

"He might not have been very smart, but he wasn't a demon. He was just lonely child that lost everything the night that he was born." Sasuke said. "You can't blame every misfortune on him, you might want to consider whose orders whom you are following."

"There's nothing wrong with the orders. You know nothing of what's going on. There's going to be a cleansing of Konoha, and Naruto was just the start." The guard replied.

"You're out of your damn mind." Sasuke shouted. "You don't know any more of what's really going on than I do. You're being used, for what purpose I don't know."

"That boy managed to brain wash you." The guard replied. "I'm not sure how he did, but clearly he did." Sasuke said nothing, having nothing to say to yet another person that had probably made Naruto's life a living hell. It was just a shame that these people would never realize that Naruto would have done anything to keep him safe even if it meant risking his life.

"Hopefully, a little time in jail, thinking about what your family was accused of, and why they are dead."

"Naruto didn't have anything to do with my families death. So, what that they were accused of causing the nine tails, the nine tails demon is not Naruto." Sasuke said, his eyes narrowing on a thought. The fourth Hokage had sealed the nine tails away inside of a baby, the night that he died. So, did that mean that the nine tails had been sealed inside of Naruto? It certainly would explain why Naruto was hated so much and so badly abused by the villagers. If the demon was sealed inside of Naruto could it be that perhaps the Hokage had something to do with what had happened to Naruto? Perhaps he thought that Naruto was some sort of a danger to the village? Sasuke didn't understand what was going on, but he knew that nothing could be what it seemed like. He just wondered if he would be able to get out of jail so that he could prove his theories. He would need Kakashi to look into some things for him. Then again if the Hokage was up to something how would Sasuke go about proving it? And what exactly could be done about it? He could maybe go the council but Sasuke didn't know that they would have that much to say about that. He supposed he could go to the Fire daimyo, but he wasn't sure how he would be able to get there from here, especially without the Hokage getting suspicious about what Sasuke was up too. One thing was certain whatever was going on, it was too big for Sasuke to handle alone. He couldn't help but wonder if Iruka would inform Kakashi about the fight that he'd gotten into with Shin. He kind of hoped so, because Kakashi would know that Sasuke would end up in serious trouble when he didn't show up for their next team mission. Sasuke was kind of annoyed that he'd been sentenced to such a long sentence especially since it had just been a fight. Sasuke was certain that no real damage had been caused, clearly the Hokage thought he had gone too far with it.

Sasuke sighed as the guard exited the cell leaving Sasuke alone in the dark. The guard was right about one thing he was going to have plenty of time to think things over, over the next several months. He was just hoping that someone could convince Kakashi or someone else to look into what was going on. Sasuke didn't think that he could stand it if his village ended up destroyed, only because Naruto had loved the place so damn much but Sasuke didn't know why. It was looking to him like there wasn't too much to love, not with the way Naruto had been treated in his final moments, and the way the villagers still wished so much pain on him. Sasuke really wished that he could change things for his friend, he wouldn't have had Naruto go through that for the world. He would have changed things for him in an instant. Didn't the villagers realize that with Nine tails being sealed in Naruto, their treat of him could have pushed him over the edge and either made him loose control and really attack the village or could have made end taking his own life? How could the villagers having willingly let that happen? One thing was certain Sasuke didn't think he wanted to live in a place that was so terrible.

"Are you contemplating your actions and what you done to that young man?" a man came out of the shadows, and Sasuke turned his head to face him, taking notice that it was the man from the Torture and Interrogation unit. Sasuke frowned, why was he even here? This situation did not call for a man of his talents.

"I did nothing wrong. He was mocking Naruto's memory. I taught him a lesson." Sasuke replied stiffly as the man stopped in front of his cell. "I don't know why you're here, it's not like I killed him. I just got in a fight that's it. I shouldn't even be here myself, the Hokage is being ridiculous."

"I can't deny that. He knows that tempers are going to run high in teenagers, especially after the news he gave you. I'm not here for the reasons that you believe I am." Ibiki told him. "I just want you to know that we're aware that something is going on and that it's being investigated."

"Perhaps you should start with the attack on Naruto." Sasuke said. "I don't know why but something doesn't seem right about that to me." Ibiki nodded.

"It does seem a little too convenient that that happened." Ibiki replied. "Kakashi and a few others are going to start looking into it. I fear what may happen to the village if it doesn't get figured out. Meanwhile, I'm going to try and get you released from here, this is the last place that you need to be."

"I agree." Sasuke said. "Perhaps you can find out when my next meal is, I'm starting to get a little hungry."

"I'll do that." Ibiki replied. "I should probably go so that no one gets suspicious. I'm going to have to play my cards very close to my chest if I want to figure out what's going on." Sasuke nodded and sighed, he was glad that he wasn't the only one that sensed that something was going on. Perhaps Konoha could still be saved after all. For Naruto's sake, Sasuke hoped so, he didn't want the village to be completely destroyed, he just wanted the people to think about how badly they'd treated Naruto in his last moments. It wasn't right, and it certainly hadn't been fair to him.

"One day Naruto, the people here will respect your memory, I'll make sure of it." Sasuke murmured. "I don't give a damn if you had nine tails sealed in you or not, that didn't make you the damn demon." Sasuke sighed, just thinking about Naruto sent a wave of pain crashing through him, but Sasuke knew that Naruto would want Sasuke to find a way to change the village. Although at this point, Sasuke was ready to abandon the village. He was tired of how they talked about Naruto, especially since Naruto was no longer among them to defend themselves. Naruto had been blind and defenseless when they attacked him, Sasuke couldn't understand it. Even if Naruto had the nine tails in him, he hadn't deserved to be treated like that.

"Looks like I finally have the Uchiha right where I want him." A harsh voice stated from the shadows. "I'd like to see your teammate transform into you now…. Wait he was murdered; he can't help you now." Sasuke's eyes narrowed, so this was the guy that wanted his eyes.

"Don't even say Naruto's name!" Sasuke snapped. "You aren't good enough. You must have been the one to end Naruto's career."

"He done that himself." The man said, as he opened Sasuke's cell door and entered the cage. Sasuke glared at him as the man approached him and he realized exactly why he had been jailed. It had been this man's intention to get his eyes so the Hokage had practically gift wrapped the Uchiha and handed him over.

"I don't know what's going on, but you won't be getting by with this." Sasuke growled. The man chuckled, and reached towards Sasuke's face, allowing his fingers to stroke Sasuke's cheek for just a moment. Sasuke jerked his head away and glared at the man.

"Don't touch me with your filthy hands!" Sasuke snarled, his temper rising. Just the sight of this man was pissing him off and he wanted nothing more than to shove a knife in his throat and be done with it. Sasuke didn't think it was actually possible for him to hate anyone, but he hated this guy with every cell in his body.

"Did you molest Naruto or just take his eyes?" Sasuke asked.

"I don't know why anyone would want to fuck that filthy demon. He probably would have killed someone had they tried." The man replied. As he once again reached towards Sasuke's face, this time his finger came in contact with Sasuke's right eye and Sasuke yelped and tried to back away, but the way he was chained ensured that he didn't go anywhere. Sasuke yelped as he felt the man pluck his right eye out and he heard the plop sound it made as it went into a jar.

"You dumbass." Sasuke scowled, "my eyes are going to be useless to you like that."

"I have ways of getting the Sharingan to turn on." The man replied as he reached for Sasuke's other eye. Sasuke, his body already in pain from having the other eye ripped out, tried to lean back away from the man's touch.

"Stupid fool." The man murmured as one of his hands gripped Sasuke's jaw tightly, forcing Sasuke to face him, as his other hand went and dug into Sasuke's eye and ripped the other one out.

"I may have to get you some help so that you don't bleed out." The man said as Sasuke moaned. "Then again it's not like anyone is going to care about what happens to you."

"Somebody will." Sasuke growled, thinking of Sakura. His pink haired teammate wouldn't stop looking until she knew where Sasuke was. It was one of the things that he found most annoying about her.

"It won't get them anywhere." The man said as he stepped out of the cell and called for a guard.

"Get a medic nin in there, he's bleeding badly because he wasn't exactly willing to share."

"Got it Danzo." The guard said, not realizing that Sasuke had heard what he'd called the man. At least Sasuke would now have a place to start investigating if he ever got out of here.

"If he gets too unruly, feel free to fuck his ass. It's not like anyone's going to care about what happens down here." Danzo stated harshly, glaring at the guard for having used his name.

"Don't you dare get near me!" Sasuke snarled, beyond angry that this man would even make such a suggestion. It made Sasuke wonder if any of their other prisoners had to be subject to such abuse. Just the thought made him sick to his stomach. He'd always thought they'd been treated fairly well while they were kept in jail.

"Make his eyes stop bleeding though. It won't do to have him bleed to death. I'm sure he can still be useful for something." Danzo said. "Maybe we can use him in training for weapons, no one will think anything about it if he suddenly dies of injuries while in jail."

"You sick son of a bitch." Sasuke swore, he really wanted to get out of here, and he hoped that Ibiki could hurry up and figure out what was going on. "You're going to burn in hell."

"I wouldn't count on it." Danzo replied, watched as a medic entered Sasuke's cell and walked over to the angry boy, he had a prod that used electricity that he wanted to try out, perhaps Sasuke would be the perfect person to do that with. Danzo smirked, Sasuke didn't even know what was going to happen, he'd be begging for death long before Danzo ever delivered it. Danzo chuckled again before turning and disappearing down the hall, leaving Sasuke and the medic alone.

"I'm sorry this happened." The medic murmured as she prodded at Sasuke's eyes to make sure there wasn't any bleeding going on Sasuke's brain. "You didn't deserve for this to happen."

"Stop him then." Sasuke said. "He can't get by with thinking that he's running the show."

"The only problem is at the moment he is running the show, and it's going to be leading us down a very dark road in the near future." The medic murmured, knowing that if Danzo was listening he would literally have her head for what she had just told the Uchiha.

"This isn't right." Sasuke said. "Why is the Hokage not doing his job, why is this coward doing it?"

"I don't know, I think I've told you too much as it is. If he finds out, I'm dead, literally." Sasuke scowled, so that's how Danzo was doing what he was doing, by delivering death threats.

"Someone is going to knock him off the pedestal that he's set himself on." Sasuke said, wishing that he could be the one to do so, but without eyes he couldn't even continue as a ninja, they might as well bury him next to Naruto.

"When's Naruto's funeral?" Sasuke asked suddenly.

"They're not having one from what I understand." The medic replied. "I believe they've done burned his body." Sasuke shouldn't have been surprised at the disrespect shown towards Naruto.

"They're not even treating him like he was human." Sasuke murmured, his heart aching for his friend. "He deserved for his friends and loved ones to get to say goodbye to him."

"Honestly, who were his friends?" The medic asked. "He really only had Iruka, and maybe Kakashi."

"And me." Sasuke said. "After he switched places with me and ended sacrificing his own career for me." Sasuke would have done anything for Naruto after what Naruto had done for him, Naruto deserved the world after he showed everyone what he was willing to do for those that he called friends. It hurt that Konoha was going to disrespect him in such a way.

"Just know that not all of us thought of him as the demon." The medic replied. "We know that what happened to him the night he was born wasn't his fault. His father thought he would be strong enough to handle it I guess." Sasuke sighed, and scowled, once he got out of here, and he would. He would make sure that Naruto got a proper memorial service, even if it killed him to do so.

"They're not getting by with disrespecting him like this." Sasuke promised. "I'll make sure he gets honored like the hero he truly is."

"I hope you can." The medic said, "because dark days are coming for Konoha, and I'm not sure that Konoha will be able to stand through it."

"Konoha won't be destroyed but the darkness will be cleansed." Sasuke replied.

Itachi sat beside Naruto, watching as the boy listened silently to what was going on around him. Itachi had an idea but he wasn't sure how to approach it with Naruto. Itachi still had one of his best friend's eyes from where he'd been killed on a mission before the clan slaughter had happened. Itachi was thinking that it was possible that he could transplant that eye into Naruto. Of course, with Naruto not being an Uchiha, the eye would eventually lose its power leaving Naruto blind once again, not to mention that it would be draining to Naruto's chakra, but considering how much he had Itachi didn't think that that would be too much of an issue. He also wondered how he should approach the idea of Naruto joining the Akatsuki, Itachi was sure that after he told Naruto that it was the Hokage that ordered him to be executed that Naruto would have no problem with joining them, he would just have to get over the betrayal, which wasn't always as easy as it sounded.

"You look like you've got something on your mind." Tobi said quietly.

"I have an idea." Itachi said, "I'm not sure how well it will work but it could end up meaning that Naruto will at least have one eye." Tobi frowned at him

"Explain that one, won't you?" Tobi asked.

"I have an eye from where a good friend of mine died during a mission." Itachi said. "I'm thinking that it might be able to be transplanted into Naruto. It would give him vision in one eye at least."

"But since Naruto isn't an Uchiha, he could end up rejecting it completely," Tobi replied. "And what about the chakra it will take to control the Sharingan?"

"Naruto has a lot of chakra, so I'm not too worried about that." Itachi replied. "Over time the eye would start deteriorating leaving him blind once again, but that probably wouldn't be for a while."

"it's worth trying, that way it would be a little easier to train him." Tobi said thoughtfully. Itachi nodded, he would do anything he could to make things easier for Naruto.

"Naruto, what do you think about joining our merry band of misfits?" Tobi asked, and Naruto frowned and shrugged. He didn't know anything about this group, and he didn't know why they would want him to join.

"Naruto, unfortunately, the Hokage was the one that decided you should be executed on your birthday." Itachi said quietly, knowing that Naruto still heard him. "He decided that your life had so little worth because you could no longer see, and no longer serve your village that you would be better off dead. That and he didn't want other villages to come after you to use you as a weapon against Konoha." Itachi hated breaking the news to him like that, but Naruto needed to know that the village he so loved wasn't quite the same village it used to be. There was something dark and deadly growing, and Itachi only hoped that the Akatsuki could kill it before it completely destroyed Konoha. Itachi hated the tears that he saw fall down Naruto's face, he had known the news would be hard for Naruto to hear, but he had to find out somebody that the village didn't want him anymore. Naruto turned his head away from Itachi and faced the ceiling, even though he couldn't see anything.

"I do want to give Shisui's eye to you though." Itachi said softly. "There's a lot of power in that eye that can help you. It could help you, help us destroy the evil that's growing." Naruto grunted, and Itachi wasn't exactly sure of what the boy had said.

"Shouldn't the demon be healing his broken bones by now?" Tobi wondered and Itachi nodded. It should be about time for the doctor to cut the wires that was keeping Naruto's jaw shut.

"Stay with him and I'll go get the doctor." Itachi said quietly. "He doesn't need to be alone right now." Tobi nodded. He could understand Itachi's fear of leaving the boy to his own devices. Tobi wouldn't be surprised if Naruto ended up trying to take his own life after hearing the news that his villager leader had wanted him dead. That couldn't have been too easy to hear, especially knowing how much Naruto had loved Konoha.

"I know that kind of news wasn't easy to here." Tobi said quietly. "But I promise if you join us, we'll clean Konoha out and restore it to the village that you remembered it to be." Tobi had wanted to destroy Konoha considering what they had done to Naruto, he could settle for wiping out the leadership that had much such decisions to end an innocent. Naruto turned his head towards Tobi and frowned, it wasn't hard to see the indecision on his face.

"I think there is something seriously wrong with Konoha." Tobi said quietly, "And if left unchecked it's going to spread like an infection to other nations. I want to stop that from happening. I can assure you we're not bad guys." Tobi stepped away from the bed, when Itachi and the doctor returned.

"Let's see what we're dealing with." The doctor reached out and touched Naruto's jaw. The doctor then gently probed Naruto's sides, checking for broken ribs, when he felt no give to the ribs, he knew the demon had woken up enough to heal the painful injuries.

"Looks like 9 tails has healed him well enough. You can probably take him away from here tonight. I just want to make sure that he's doing okay for a little while." Itachi nodded, he was grateful that Naruto would be able to leave the hospital, he knew the boy feared what the doctors would end up doing to him.

"This might hurt a little." Dr. Grey told Naruto as he reached into his pocket and pulled out the clippers that would cut the wires that kept Naruto's mouth wired shut. Naruto nodded, and turned his head in the direction of the doctor's voice. He tried to be still as the doctor gently opened Naruto's mouth as wide as it was allowed by the wires.

"That was the worst couple of hours of my life." Naruto moaned as he tried to stretch his jaw. "Can I really leave now?"

"As long as you have someone with you, leaving in your present condition isn't wise." Dr. Grey said.

"I had help getting here, I suppose it would only make sense that I leave with help."

"I'm hoping that my idea will help with him." Itachi said.

"He could reject it." Tobi said. "Then you'd be in the same position you are in now."

"Maybe not." Itachi said, hearing the sound of feet hurrying down the hall. He was surprised to see Deidara come through the door with a scroll in his hand.

"I have news from Konoha." Deidara said. "Our spy has informed me that Sasuke was taken prisoner, and it appears that it was set so that they could get his eyes." Itachi's eyes narrowed, he really wanted to go and destroy Konoha, especially if they were after Sasuke's eyes.

"Something tells me that that wasn't the only news that you had." Itachi snarled, angry that they had gone after this brother.

"Our spy believes that the Hokage gave the order to have Naruto executed because he interfered with Sasuke." Deidara said and Itachi scowled and looked over at Naruto. He needed to go back to Konoha and see if he could get his brother out of trouble. If they got their hands on Sasuke's eyes, he'd be left blind, and he probably wouldn't have much help aside from his teammates.

"You should find your brother and give him the eyes." Naruto said softly as if sensing Itachi's confusion. "He's going to need them more than me. Especially if he's still going to be in the village with all that trouble going on."

"That would mean that you won't be able to see again." Itachi said.

"Something tells me that he's going to be a big figure in finding out what's going on around there." Naruto said softly.

"You don't have to keep sacrificing yourself for everyone else." Itachi said. "I'm not letting you go back to that village. You've been through enough."

"Isn't it time that Sasuke learns that your still alive?" Naruto asked. "He deserves to know that he has family out there. And some people are meant to be sacrificed."

"He already believes I'm dead." Itachi replied. "I'm going to go back to the village and see what I can find out about Sasuke. If they've blinded him there's going to be some hell to pay."

"You could just bring him here." Naruto said quietly. "He shouldn't have to keep suffering."

"I don't like it either." Itachi said. "But he could be useful where he is. Maybe I shouldn't be the one to go, since I don't want him to know that I'm alive." Itachi looked over at Deidara.

"You can transplant an eye correct?" Itachi asked, he hated the idea of leaving Naruto completely blind, but his brother needed a weapon of some sort, if he was going to be around the garbage that was running rampant in Konoha.

"Are you sure Naruto?" Itachi asked. "I can do it here and now before you leave the hospital."

"You said it yourself Sasuke was going to need some sort of weapon, besides he's an Uchiha, he'll be able to handle the eye better than I would." Naruto said quietly.

"Still you deserve to have the opportunity to be happy for once in your life." Itachi replied. "I don't think you've ever experienced a moment of true happiness."

"Some people are born to suffer." Naruto replied. "I just always assumed that was my role in life."

"It shouldn't be." Itachi said. "As soon as I get this situation with Sasuke fixed, I'll show you just how much happiness the world can give you."

"You don't need to worry about me." Naruto said softly. "I'm not in the village anymore, I think I can make my own way now."

"I'm not turning you loose when you're completely blind." Itachi replied. "That would be downright stupid. I can't let you get hurt any further. Which is why you should go with Tobi."

"Aren't you coming back with us?" Tobi asked frowning at Itachi.

"I'm going to Konoha." Itachi replied.

"Then what am I needed for?" Deidara asked.

"You're going to give my brother the eyes, and I'm going to do a little digging around, to see exactly what they wanted with Sasuke. If I've found out that they've caused more damage to Sasuke than taking his eyes, I will bring all hell down on their heads."

"You should consider waiting and following the plan." Tobi said, frowning at Itachi. "I'm working on a plan, now that Naruto is out of the village, I don't think it's going to be so hard. You said it yourself their security wasn't all that great."

"The Hokage said there was going to be extra security in the village." Itachi said. "If they have it, it's been being used for what the Hokage claims."

"I think we've done determined that the Hokage isn't being honest." Tobi replied. "So, if he's not using the extra security for the village, what is he using it for?"

"That's what I want to find out." Itachi replied. "Because whatever it is, it can't be good. I want to make Konoha burn for what they done to Naruto, but at the same time I want to ensure that Konoha is cleaned of the darkness that is running rampant."

"It may take destroying Konoha to rid it of that evil. Sometimes it takes destruction to make something great again." Tobi said.

"I don't wish for Konoha to be destroyed." Naruto said. "I just wish that whatever is going on will be put to an end."

"That's our goal, that's what Pain wants to do. Sure, we're made out to look like the bad guys but that's only because we are aware of the darkness that is threatening Konoha." Tobi said. "If it can destroy your village, what's to stop it from spreading to other villages and the same process get repeated?"

"After all of this is said and done, will I be able to go home again?" Naruto asked quietly. He missed Sasuke, and Iruka and Kakashi, he even missed Sakura even though she was a brat most of the time.

"I'm not sure." Tobi replied. "Our spy has informed us that the Hokage reported you as having died from your injuries."

"Well, that's one way to explain the brat's absence." Deidara said, glancing over at Naruto and glaring at him. He didn't know what it was, but he really didn't like the blue-eyed kid. He didn't know what had happened for his village to treat him the way that they had, but if he was honest, he didn't give a damn, and probably never would. Naruto scowled at being called a brat, he already didn't like the older man. There was just something about the man's attitude that really rubbed him the wrong way.

"I miss Iruka and your brother, and Kakashi." Naruto said quietly, "I don't want to think about never getting to see them again."

"Technically speaking you won't be seeing them again anyways." Deidara remarked. "You can miss communicating with them."

"Shut up." Naruto growled, annoyed at the other man. "You know damn well what I mean."

"I can see these are going to get along splendidly." Tobi said thoughtfully, "They're already fighting like brothers."

"If I had a brother, I wouldn't want it to be some stupid, blind idiot." Deidara said.

"Well, I wouldn't want a jack ass for a brother either." Naruto commented and Itachi rolled his eyes. It looked like he was going to have to keep the two of them separated, no good would come of having them in the same room.

"Stop insulting him, Deidara." Itachi said calmly, though he was a little pissed that Deidara was being such an asshole. "His situation isn't his fault; he saved my brother's life and he's going to be treated with the respect that he deserves." Deidara rolled his eyes, other people made the same decision that Naruto had, and they didn't get treated any differently than they did before, he didn't see what was so special about this kid.

"He can help being stupid." Deidara muttered and Itachi growled under his breath. Deidara was really starting to get on his nerves.

"How about getting back to the plan?" Tobi asked. "Pain is going to need to meet with Naruto eventually."

"I'll deal with him eventually." Itachi said. "For now, let Naruto get some rest. Worry about everything else later." Itachi needed to get back to Konoha to check on his brother, but he was worried about Naruto. The kid was sullen and seemed to be in a bad mood, Itachi didn't want to leave him to dwell on his thoughts for too long.

"Go do what you need to do." Naruto said quietly. "I'll be okay." He didn't like the idea of being with a bunch of strangers, but he knew Itachi was worried about Sasuke. "And Sasuke needs that eye more than I do, you're going to have to get it transplanted into him quickly."

"I don't like leaving you with people you just met." Itachi said thoughtfully. "I know things are difficult for you right now, you don't need to deal with that alone. And at some point, it's okay to stop sacrificing for everyone else, you have to be happy too."

"Sasuke needs you right now. You have more of an obligation to him than you do to someone who isn't even family." Naruto pointed out. "So, go take care of your family from the shadows, and I'll be okay somehow." Itachi frowned, Naruto was right but that didn't mean he had to like it. He was just worried that Naruto would get left alone and end up doing something permeant and Itachi didn't like that thought.

"If I do this, he needs to be watched like a hawk." Itachi told Tobi. "The poison has really screwed things up for him, if he gets hurt and starts to be bleed, he needs to get to the hospital immediately, because he could bleed to death. He can't bleed too much or it will be the end of him, unless this poison can be removed from his blood stream."

"So the poison mimics a blood disorder?" Tobi said. "That sounds pretty damn genius to me."

"It is, but it's not going to be fun for Naruto to deal with on top of everything else." Itachi replied. "And I'll be checking in on him every night while I'm gone, so you better be okay."

"I'll be okay as possible in a house full of strangers." Naruto replied, but he would probably miss Itachi's comforting presence. He would have time to think about what his village had done to him and that wasn't really something that he wanted to face right then. He was scared, and he wanted nothing more than to be with Iruka and in his apartment. How was he supposed to live a life like this? He kind of wished the villagers had succeeded in killing, they would have saved him from the hell that now his life.

"You'll get used to them." Itachi said gently. "They truly aren't bad guys, there is a lot of good in them. They'll take care of you and help you."

"I want to go home." Naruto said softly. "I miss Iruka something terrible."

"I know." Itachi said gently, his heart aching for the boy. He knew that Iruka was one of the only people that had treated Naruto with any amount of kindness in his young life. "I promise once we can get everything in Konoha straightened out, you can go home again. Be prepared though it probably won't be with a warm welcome. Everyone believes that you are dead." Naruto swallowed hard, he couldn't imagine how Iruka or Sasuke had taken the news and it hurt him to even think about them grieving for him.

"I wish things didn't have to be this way. I wish they could have been much simpler." Naruto said, sighing. He wanted to go back to sleep but he had too much on his mind for that to happen. He probably wouldn't be able to get a decent sleep for a while because of the situation that he found himself in. He only hoped that Itachi was right and he could trust the guys that Itachi was leaving him with.

"We're working for a better future." Itachi said. "And while we are having to deviate from the original plan, I believe the one that's in development can be just as good."

"If you're going back to Konoha, will you look in on Iruka for me?" Naruto asked, it really bothered him to think of the other man grieving. He hated to think of the other man hurting in anyway.

"Of course, I will. I'll check on everyone else as well." Itachi said. "Obviously, I can't come into contact with them, but I can check on them for you."

"Thank you for everything." Naruto said quietly. "I don't think I ever thanked you for getting me out of there."

"I should have realized what was going on earlier." Itachi replied. "And maybe I could have saved you some pain."

"It's not your fault." Naruto replied. "and if I'm being honest, I'm kind of used to being hurt all of the time."

"That's a sad fact, given what you would do in order to protect your home." Itachi replied. "it's not right that no one realized what a huge heart you have for them."

"Maybe they'll be happier if they believe I am dead." Naruto said. "Everyone deserves to be happy."

"Not anyone that can so easily abuse an innocent child." Itachi replied. "they need to be taught a lesson, just like they thought that you needed to be taught a lesson for something you didn't even do."

"Two wrongs don't make a right." Naruto replied. "It may not have been fair what I went through, but I understand now why they thought they had to act the way they did."

"I wish I could be as forgiving as you." Itachi murmured, but he wouldn't ever be. He would always remember the wrongs that had been done to him and his family, and he would always strive to make up for it. That was on him though, he'd learned that people could be cruel and misjudge people for their own damn reasons.

Thanks for reading and reviewing! Liz


	10. Chapter 10

The Crow and the Butterfly

Chapter 10

(Small Lemon towards the end)

Sensing someone coming towards him, Sasuke raised his head, even though he couldn't see. He knew someone was there, he just didn't know if they were going to be there for good or for bad. This man Danzo, seemed to have more plans for Sasuke, that didn't just include stealing his eyes. He wondered if Danzo was responsible for everything else that was happening in Konoha as well, or if he was just trying to make himself seem as suspicious as possible.

"I can see that you are still here." Danzo's voice filled the cell.

"Where the hell else would I be?" Sasuke demanded. "I can't exactly go anywhere." Danzo chuckled. Sasuke certainly was irritated today.

"If only you knew what I had in store for you." Danzo said as he reached out and touched Sasuke's face, only to have Sasuke jerk his head back away from Danzo's hand.

"I don't want you're filthy, evil hands near me." Sasuke snapped, he wanted nothing more than to be able to kick this man's ass. Too bad, he couldn't get his arms free, because blind or not, he would find a way to kick his ass. Danzo chuckled.

"Fight me all you want; you won't be going anywhere." Danzo said. "So resisting is pointless."

"What exactly is it that you want with me?" Sasuke demanded. "You've taken my eyes, what else could you possibly want me for? Why don't you just kill me already?"

"I plan on killing you." Danzo stated. "But not just yet, you see I have some new torture devices that I want to test out. Seeing as how you're going to die in here anyways, I figure why not test them out on you. It's all for the good of Konoha."

"You're evil!" Sasuke snapped. "how the hell is torturing me for the good of Konoha?"

"Because it will teach our enemies that we aren't as weak as the see us to be." Danzo replied. "They'll think about sending their nin to spy or attack us." Sasuke scowled. It sounded like the man before him was absolutely deranged, how the hell the leaders of Konoha hadn't recognized this was beyond Sasuke's intelligence.

"You're beyond disgusting." Sasuke hissed. "Even our Hokage wouldn't deem torture okay unless it was absolutely necessary."

"Our Hokage isn't going to give a damn about what I do to the prisoners." Danzo stated. "In fact, he doesn't give a damn about anything."

"Something tells me that you have something to do with that." Sasuke replied. "And it's going to lead to the destruction of the village, it's already led to the loss of my best friend."

"Naruto was a piece of shit who should have been killed the moment the nine tailed demon was sealed inside of him. He was a no talent ninja who had outlived his purpose. His death saved this village, and I'm going to continue to do whatever I have to in order to save Konoha from destruction. " Danzo replied and scowling at the man. He was really starting to get pissed, there had been more to Naruto than being the Jinchuuriki for the nine tails demon.

"I think you're the piece of shit for believing that your way of thinking is going to save Konoha. Your way is going to destroy the village and everyone in it." Sasuke snapped, grimaced when he felt something hard slam into his hip bone, a loud crack filling the air and Sasuke cried out in pain. The man had just broken something in his hip and Sasuke wondered if he would be allowed to get medical treatment. Something told him that whatever bones Danzo broke, Sasuke was just going to be left to deal with it.

"How the hell is torturing me going to fit in with saving Konoha?" Sasuke asked, biting his lip hoping the pain would go away.

"It won't but torturing you will bring me pleasure." Danzo said, with a chuckle, as he raised the electric prod in his hand and placed it against the hip bone that he'd just broken, and pressed down on the button, sending electricity shooting through him. Sasuke cried out, his body jerking as the agony from the broken hip grew worse.

"You sick son of a bitch!" Sasuke hissed, his breaths coming out in staggering gasps. He'd never been in so much pain before and he wanted nothing more than to make it stop. Something told him that Danzo was only getting started with the pain.

"Someone is going to figure out what you're doing, and they are going to stop you." Sasuke cried out as Danzo let loose with another shock.

"You think anyone is going to care about your moody, sullen ass?" Danzo asked. "Everyone knows you bad tempered, and hate being around anyone. No one is going to give a damn what I do to you."

"Kakashi will know that something is up!" Sasuke hissed. "He's not exactly stupid you know."

"He's going to be going on a long mission." Danzo replied. "One that he won't be returning from." Sasuke scowled. Was Danzo's plan to rid the village of all the talented Ninja? That would only lead to the village being seen as weak, and other countries would feel free to attack. That didn't sound right to Sasuke's ears.

"For wanting to save the village you're going about it the wrong way." Sasuke said. "Everything you're doing is going to leave the village weak and open to attack."

"Not if I replace them with my ninja." Danzo replied. "My ninja will change this village. The villagers won't get by with doing whatever the hell they want; they'll have to work harder to serve the village."

"It sounds like a dictatorship to me." Sasuke said. "Those don't work out very well in the end. Unless you're end game is only to make everyone suffer."

"Other countries will like the way I'm doing things and they'll want to do it too." Danzo said.

"It sounds like you're not just planning on taking over Konoha, you're trying to get other nations to fall into your hands." Sasuke grunted, growing angrier at Danzo as the man took the iron bar, he'd used to break his hip the first time, and slammed it into his hip again. Sasuke screamed, his voice filled with agony. He wished that someone would be able to hear him, because something told him that his pain wouldn't end today, that it would stretch out for a long time until Danzo finally grew tired of him and had him killed.

"You're going to be found out and you're going to be stopped!" Sasuke hissed. "You can hurt me all you want but you're not going to be able to stop people from figuring out what you're up too."

"They won't be able to stop me, especially once I get the other nations to back me." Danzo sneered. "You can say goodbye to the Konoha that you know and love."Sasuke hissed, and bit his lip, feeling the blood run down his chin. He didn't think that he'd ever been in the presence of someone so evil, and he wasn't able to do anything about it. They'd put him in a strait jacket to ensure that he couldn't stop them. Sasuke had to find a way to get a message to Kakashi, his sensei couldn't go on that mission, if Danzo planned to have him killed. Kakashi would be willing to die for Konoha, but he shouldn't have to die for someone that was betraying Konoha.

"Kakashi isn't so stupid that, he won't figure out what's going on. You can try and have him killed, but it won't work." Sasuke hissed. "Kakashi is extremely talented, he won't fall into your trap so easily." Danzo chuckled.

"You can keep resisting all you want, but Konoha is going to change and there isn't anything you can do to stop it." Danzo replied. "My plan is fool proof."

"You're a moron if you think you can't fail!" Sasuke snapped, wincing as Danzo slammed the iron bar into Sasuke's hip again. "Damaging me isn't going to change the fact that you are fighting a losing battle."

"Doesn't look like I'm losing the war right now." Danzo said. "No one knows what I'm up too except you and you won't ever be seeing the light of day again."

"That might be true, but there are ninja's who carry the will of fire. They'll know exactly what's going on." Sasuke said, his body in so much pain that he wasn't sure how much longer he could keep from passing out. Danzo was perhaps the evilest person that he'd had the displeasure of meeting,

"You know I wouldn't have to do this if you would just side with me." Danzo said thoughtfully. "You could be saved a world of pain if you just helped me with my takeover."

"I won't ever side with you." Sasuke snapped, "I don't care what you do to me. I won't be part of destroying Konoha."

"Sometimes things need to be broken before they can be fixed and become great again." Danzo stated.

"You're a fool." Sasuke said, his vison beginning to go blurry, he didn't know how much longer he could remain awake, but as he started to pass out, he thought he heard Danzo say something:

"Your family was much easier to manipulate, it's a shame that you're going to have to go the way they did."

"What are you talking about?" Sasuke slurred, his mind swirling with possibilities as he struggled to keep his eyes open.

"You'll find out soon enough." Danzo replied. "I'll tell you right before it's too late for you to do anything about it." Danzo watched as Sasuke's head dropped to his chest as he finally lost consciousness from the pain that he was feeling. Sasuke really could have been helpful in his war in Konoha, but if he wasn't going to be useful in that way, he could be useful in other's before Danzo finally decided to end his life.

"Your brother would be able to stop me, it's too bad he can't come back to the village and face me." Danzo said, turning and exited the cell. He quite liked the sight of Sasuke being held captive and chained up. With the damage that Danzo had caused Sasuke's hip, the boy would walk with a limp for the rest of his life, if he ever got out of jail, which Danzo had no intention of allowing him, nor did he intent to allow Sasuke to get medical treatment, unless Sasuke decided that he would like to become Danzo's bed slave. Danzo would make an exception for that. Danzo doubted that Sasuke had ever slept with anyone which mean that he would be fun to break in. Danzo would ask permission once but if Sasuke didn't grant it, Danzo would take what he wanted by force and then the torture would continue. There would be no stopping Danzo from getting what he wanted to get. Not even Sasuke's unwillingness to fuck him.

"If you only knew the plans that I had for you." Danzo murmured. "You probably wouldn't so easily lose consciousness around me again." Danzo chuckled before turning and walking out of the cell, making sure to lock it behind him.

"What is it that you see in that blond-haired brat?" Deidara asked as he followed Itachi out of the hospital room and down the hall. "What makes him so special?"

"You know that he's the nine tails Jinchuuriki." Itachi replied. "But he was also someone that I spent a lot of time looking out for when I was still a ninja back home."

"Why? I would think that he would be able to take care of himself. He was only blinded recently was he not?"

"Because he's been mistreated his entire life." Itachi replied. "The villagers would often beat him, and he'd never know why they done so. Until recently of course, when he learned why he always healed so quickly. Naruto needs to know that there are kind people out there, that not everyone is out to hurt him." Deidara frowned, if he was honest, he didn't care Naruto had been hurt, maybe it was more than just the demon that caused him to be abused, maybe it was something that he'd actually done.

"You know maybe that abuse wasn't just because of the nine tailed demon." Deidara said. "Maybe he just annoyed people too much and they didn't care for him because of that."

"He was lonely yes, because he was orphaned at birth." Itachi said. "And he did play a lot of pranks to get attention. But he never asked to be hurt, he was just a kid who couldn't control what happened to him." Itachi replied, frowning at Deidara's behavior, he'd barely met the kid and yet he instantly disliked him.

"What's your issue with him anyways?" Itachi asked. "He's never done anything to you."

"I don't know." Deidara said shrugging. "There's just something about the kid that I don't like."

"He's not going to come in-between us." Itachi said as he paused his steps and turned to face Deidara. "Nothing can change our relationship. So, there isn't any need to feel threatened. Besides he's a little too young for me."

"Good." Deidara murmured as he stepped forward and into Itachi's arms. "I don't want to share you with a kid."

"He's been through a lot." Itachi said softly. "And he shouldn't have had too. I just want things to get better for him so that he doesn't have to keep sacrificing himself for people that might not give a damn about the price of the sacrifice."

"You shouldn't have to sacrifice our time together just to keep him alive and well either." Deidara said, thinking about what Itachi had said about the poison in Naruto's blood stream, potentially causing problems for Naruto.

"I know you don't get it." Itachi said softly. "But so many promises have been made to Naruto and all of them have been broken. I want him to know that someone can make a promise and keep it. Because that damn village can't."

"You're going to have your chance to get even." Deidara said. "I don't that the village will remain standing by the time we're done cleaning shop."

"I want to try and preserve the few people that Naruto cares for." Itachi said. "Surely you can try and understand that. Besides like I said he's 13, a little young for me."

"I suppose I do understand." Deidara said. "it sucks that he's had to go through everything he has, but the past can't be changed. He can only learn and grow from it."

"He's going to be a strong ninja despite what he faces." Itachi replied. "I'll make sure of it, and he'll make the trip to Konoha with us when everything is in its place."

"Let's hope that we don't have to have move things forward earlier than planned." Deidara commented.

"Why would it?" Itachi asked. "Things aren't progressing that quickly."

"You never know." Deidara said. "Whoever is behind that mess, could be taking steps to making a bad situation even worse."

"Do you know something I don't?" Itachi asked frowning at his boyfriend.

"No." Deidara shook his head. "But I've thinking about your brother and wondering why they had him jailed."

"To steal his eyes, you already know how powerful they are." Itachi said. "But they could want him for something else, and what that is I'm not exactly sure. I just know that's it's probably not going to anything that I like."

"Whatever is going on we're going to get Sasuke out of there." Deidara said. "But it might take a little while, especially if you insist that he not find out that your still alive."

"He'll find that out later, and he's going to be beyond pissed." Itachi said. "I can't deal with that right now, so he can't know that I'm alive. I'll deal with him after we clean up Konoha."

"And hopefully none of the other nations decide that whatever is going on here is a good idea." Deidara said. "That would mean a lot more work for us and I don't know about you, but I'm ready for a vacation."

"We'll get some time together eventually." Itachi replied. "It just might take a little while, with the way things are going."

"I hope so, because I'm desperate to feel you beneath me again." Deidara said.

"it's going to take a few days to get to Konoha." Itachi replied. "So, if an opportunity presents itself, I won't complain." Deidara's eyes narrowed on Itachi.

"Is that a promise?" Deidara asked and Itachi nodded.

"I know I've sort of been neglecting you lately, you've been very patient with me up to this point and I appreciate it." Itachi said softly.

"Well, to be fair you've had a lot on your mind." Deidara replied, "especially with finding out that Naruto was sentenced to death by your Hokage isn't of being protected like he was supposed to be. I don't know that I would be able to trust that Hokage again."

"There's something strange about him." Itachi replied. "I can't quite put my finger on it. He doesn't even act like he cares about what happens to the village. That's enough to make me suspicious about his intentions."

"Could it be that the Hokage is a puppet? And the real Hokage is being kept prisoner somewhere?" Deidara asked.

"That very well could be what happened." Itachi replied. "But I'm wondering whomever is in charge is more powerful than the Hokage? Sarutobi is the most powerful ninja in the village. Who would want to go so far as to completely take over Konoha like this?"

"Who do you know that has always been power hungry?" Deidara asked. "and that has always been up the Hokage's ass every time you turned around?" Itachi frowned he could think of one man that had always been around when he'd had to speak to the Hokage. It was also someone whom had offered their opinion on his killing his clan. Itachi frowned could that man be responsible for everything that was going on?

"There is someone that I can think of." Itachi said. "He was always around when I was speaking to the Hokage, especially when it came around the time of slaughtering my clan."

"Is he powerful enough to take the Hokage's place?" Deidara asked.

"I don't know." Itachi said. "Danzo always seemed kind of slimy to me. I don't know how he would have managed to get the Hokage under his thumb."

"Unless he's had a plan for a long time, and it's just now getting put into motion." Deidara said. Itachi frowned, could Danzo have been making plans for years for taking over and just now putting it into motion? The next question was how far would he take it?Would he completely destroy Konoha before rebuilding it? If Danzo was the one in charge what did he plan on doing with Sasuke? After stealing Sasuke's eyes there wouldn't be much that Sasuke could do physically so did that mean that Danzo had another plan for Sasuke.

"What's he going to do with Sasuke?" Itachi wondered. "If he stole his eyes, will he keep my brother alive or will he outright kill Sasuke?"

"I don't see him killing Sasuke just yet." Deidara replied. "He might have some uses for Sasuke, some of which you don't like."

"Like what?" Itachi's eyes narrowed, wondering what Deidara was going to say.

"As either someone to experiment on or as a personal sex slave." Deidara replied, watching as Itachi's face paled. He'd known the man wouldn't like what he had to say.

"If Danzo is in charge, he better not lay a fucking hand on my little brother, torture or sexually. I'll rip his throat out." Itachi seethed, angry at the thought of his brother being harmed in such a way. There was no reason for Danzo to harm Sasuke, not even if it was somehow to accomplish whatever goal Danzo had.

"We won't know for sure until we get to Konoha." Deidara said. "But I'm sure he'll probably have Sasuke somewhere well hidden."

"He won't know that I'm coming back." Itachi replied. "I'm going to be doing some snooping into his background for sure."

"You just don't want to get caught." Deidara said. "Naruto is depending on you for the time being. He's going to need someone to train him and keep him safe from our merry crew."

"Naruto's going to be fine, Tobi seems to have taken a liking to him." Itachi replied.

"Tobi can be an idiot." Deidara replied. "And is likely to lead Naruto down a road of trouble."

"He does that, and it might be his ass on the line." Itachi said, but he knew Deidara was right. Tobi liked to get into trouble, he kind of reminded Itachi of Naruto when he'd first joined the Akatsuki. Itachi took a breath and released it slowly, getting irritated over this situation wasn't going to away on its own.

"I really need that vacation that you were talking about earlier." Itachi said. "I'm exhausted going back and forth to Konoha."

"I can always make you feel better." Deidara said as he reached down, and inside of Itachi's clock to the male part of him, squeezing gently. Itachi shivered and lay his forehead on Deidara's chest. He really wished they could fool around right now and relieve some stress. Unfortunately, they needed to get to Konoha as quickly as possible to see what was going on with Sasuke. Itachi just really hoped that Sasuke wasn't too far gone to be helped. If Itachi had to bury Sasuke, there would be no hope of saving Konoha. The entire village would burn for what had happened to Sasuke, even if the villagers weren't responsible.

"It's going to be okay." Deidara said. "You're going to save your brother and restore Konoha to what it used to be before Danzo or whomever was running the shit show right now."

"I hope your right." Itachi said, as Deidara's hand continued to massage him. "Although if you keep doing that, we might not make it very far tonight."

"I think everything will be fine for one night, I don't know how it could get any worse in the next few days." Itachi replied.

"it can always get worse, but we have to believe that it won't." Deidara said, enjoying the moans that Itachi was making. He could feel Itachi growing harder in his hand, and he liked the way Itachi felt. Getting Itachi hot and bothered right now, probably wasn't the best thing to be doing right now, but it would distract him from all the worries that he had on his mind. Every now and again, Itachi needed to learn how to relax a little.

"Keep doing that." Itachi moaned softly, "I love having your hands on me."

"Never mind we're still at the hospital." Deidara said, but he wasn't about to move his hand. He would move Itachi to a better location if he asked, but he wasn't going to stop what he was doing. If he was honest, the sounds that Itachi was making were hitting him right in the groin.

"I don't care about that. You can bend me over and fuck me right here for all I care." Itachi moaned.

"How about we go behind the hospital, where we can't be seen?" Deidara asked and Itachi nodded, and Deidara withdrew his hand from Itachi's clock, and they both hurried into the alleyway beside the hospital. Once Deidara was certain that they were out of view of anyone that happened to pass by, he slammed Itachi against the wall, and his mouth attacked Itachi's lips.

Itachi moaned as Deidara lifted him up enough so that Itachi could wrap his legs around Deidara's waist. Deidara moaned against his mouth and thrust his hips up against Itachi's, causing Itachi to moan and for Deidara to repeat the movement.

"Damn," Itachi murmured as he lay his head back against the brick wall, allowing Deidara to place his mouth on Itachi's neck, sucking before licking and grinding his hips into Itachi's again.

"I want you inside of me!" Itachi moaned, and Deidara jerked up Itachi's cloaked, exposing Itachi's pants.

"Hang on tight!" Deidara ordered, "I've got to get our pants off."

"Just hurry up." Itachi said as he raised his hips up enough for Deidara to yank down his pants and underwear, after that Deidara's hands made quick work of his own pants.

"Do you want me to stretch you?" Deidara asked, and Itachi shook his head.

"You've done got me so hot and bothered, I just need you inside of me." Itachi said and Deidara chuckled and lowered his mouth back to Itachi's neck, as he lined himself up with Itachi's ass.

"This might hurt a little." Deidara mumbled against Itachi's neck as he roughly shoved his hips forward, pressing his cock harder against Itachi's ass, until it slowly started to enter. Itachi moaned and Deidara paused to make sure he wasn't hurting Itachi.

"I'm fine." Itachi said as he lowered his hips, trying to force Deidara to go deeper.

"If you insist." Deidara said as he gave another rough thrust of his lips, fully seating himself inside of Itachi. Itachi moaned at the feeling of being completely full. He didn't get too much time with Deidara like this, but he enjoyed every moment that he got with him.

"Damn, you're so hot." Deidara moaned as he pulled out and thrust forward slamming into Itachi.

"Keep that up!" Itachi moaned. "I like that!"

"Good." Deidara's mouth lowered to Itachi's neck as he pulled out and thrust his hips forward again, slamming Itachi's back into the wall. Deidara was sure that Itachi was going to have to have some scratches on his back from the bricks, but he didn't care. All he cared about was the building pleasure and making Itachi feel good. Another thing if he was being honest, Deidara knew that Itachi would go back to see Naruto tonight before leaving and Deidara kind of hoped that Naruto would smell the sex on Itachi so that Naruto would know exactly who Itachi belonged too. He supposed that was a crappy move to make, but Deidara wanted Naruto to know where his place was, which was at the bottom, until he done something to earn his respect. He didn't care if that made him look like a bad person, but Deidara was staking his claim. Itachi would be pissed once he realized what Deidara was up too, but Deidara couldn't exactly bring himself to care about that.

Itachi moaned and Deidara felt Itachi shoot his load over his stomach and with a few more hard thrusts Deidara came with a cry deep inside of Itachi. Deidara panted hard for a moment, he hadn't felt that much pleasure in a while.

"Does that make you feel a little less stressed?" Deidara asked raising his head from where it had fallen on Itachi's shoulder.

"Damn right it does." Itachi moaned softly, as Deidara pulled out of Itachi and lowered Itachi's legs to the ground. "I might be walking funny for a while, it's probably a good thing that Naruto can't see right now." Deidara scowled at the mention of Naruto and rolled his eyes. Something told him that he was going to have to do something about the blind brat if he wants his relationship with Itachi to continue.

thanks for reading and reviewing Liz


	11. Chapter 11

The Crow and The Butterfly

Chapter 11

"I guess I should go tell Naruto that I'm leaving." Itachi said quietly. "I don't want to just leave him and make him wonder what's going on."

"He did say that he would be okay on his own." Deidara pointed out. "I think you should let him prove it."

"He's blind, there's no way in hell that he can take care of himself." Itachi replied. "And you and I both know it. He's going to need someone to guide him back to the hideout."

"How sure are you that Pain won't use him anyways. Being able to see doesn't make any difference when it comes to extracting the nine tails." Deidara remarked.

"Tobi seems to think that Pain is okay with Naruto joining us." Itachi replied. "Tobi has already relayed the information I've given him about Naruto. Naruto is a wealth of information, and I'm sure he'll be wanting to get even for what Konoha done to him."

"I can't blame him for that. I would be pissed if my village wanted me killed for something that I had no control over." Deidara said. "But Naruto won't be able to do anything, you know Pain likes us to make us work for our place in the hideout. What can Naruto really do?"

"Don't worry about it, I'll find a way to work with Naruto so that he can keep his place." Itachi replied as he started back towards the hospital. "We should really concentrate on trying to deal with Konoha right now, and not discussing Naruto's worth to the group."

Back in Naruto's room, Itachi found Naruto with his face turned to the ceiling, a thoughtful expression on his face. Hearing Itachi enter the room, he turned his head towards the other man, his nose wrinkling up as the smell that lingered on Itachi's skin hit Naruto's nose. It smelled like sex and Naruto wasn't so fond of that smell, especially when it came to Itachi.

"I thought you were leaving?" Naruto said, sourly. The smell coming from Itachi was enough to put him in a bad mood. He didn't like thinking that Itachi was out there seeking pleasure.

"I am." Itachi replied. "I just wanted to come back and say goodbye."

"You shouldn't have bothered, smelling the way that you do." Naruto muttered petulantly. Itachi frowned at him.

"Smell?" Itachi asked quietly.

"You smell like sex." Naruto said. "I can almost smell someone else on you."

"That's my business and none of yours." Itachi replied. "I can go out and fuck anyone I like that's none of your concern." Naruto grimaced at the reproach in Itachi's voice.

"What do you know what sex smells like anyways?" Deidara asked from the doorway, his face lighting up in a grin as a red blush tinted Naruto's cheeks. This was fun perhaps he should play with the boy a little more.

"Good question." Itachi stated. "You're a little young to even know what sex is."

"I know what sex is." Naruto said. "enough that I can smell it on you, it's filthy kind of smell that doesn't belong on Itachi."

"It's not filthy." Deidara said, offended at Naruto's words, and he shot him a hateful glare.

"Too bad, no one is going to be willing to fuck a blind boy. You'll never know about the pleasure that you can get from sex." Deidara replied.

"With your attitude I'm surprised anyone fucks you, you must pay Itachi to get any from him."

"I'm not some common whore." Itachi snapped, annoyed at the two's bickering. He didn't know what was wrong with Naruto, but he really wasn't liking this attitude that he was getting. Itachi was his own person, he didn't know why Naruto would even have an opinion on the things that he done. "I don't get paid for sex, nor would I ever. I don't know who the hell put that idea into your head." Itachi muttered. Naruto turned his head away, scowling. Itachi smelled bad and he really wished that he would and take a shower. Naruto didn't want to be around Itachi when he was like this.

"How long is this next trip going to take?" Naruto asked trying to hide his annoyance. If he was being honest, he was afraid to be around the other members of the Akatsuki without Itachi being around.

"It'll take a few days to get there." Itachi replied. "And then it depends on how long it takes to find Sasuke and find out what they've done to him."

"Why don't you bring him with you and then destroy the village?" Naruto wondered. "Isn't that what your goal is to do anyways?"

"There's still a few good people in the village." Itachi replied. "I'm going to make sure that they have no part of what's going on before we destroy anything. It could be they're already trying to change things." Naruto snorted.

"They aren't trying to change anything." Naruto said. "Especially, Kakashi. He was willing enough to leave me to their devices. Hell, he bitched at me for switching places with your brother." If Naruto was being honest, he was kind of pissed his at his former team leader, he felt like the man could have done so much more to keep things from ending the way that they did.

"Perhaps they weren't aware of what these people were up too." Itachi suggested. "The Hokage has been pretty damn sneaky about everything up to this point." Naruto shrugged.

"What's going to happen to me while you're gone?" Naruto asked, he hoped that Itachi didn't hear the fear in his voice, but there wasn't anything Naruto could have done to keep his voice from shaking.

"Tobi is going to take you back to the hideout, where you'll meet with Pain and he'll inform you of his expectations." Itachi replied.

"Will I be safe there?" Naruto asked, he was unsure of being around people that he didn't know without Itachi being there.

"Don't get into their business and you should be fine." Deidara commented.

"He's right, just mind your own business." Itachi said, still a little annoyed that Naruto had made the comments that he had.

"I still don't feel comfortable without you there." Naruto said quietly.

"You're going to have to find a way to be comfortable without me, I need to know that heartless village is doing to my brother." Itachi said. "And I'm not going to send someone else to do my job because your uncomfortable."

"Don't you think you should take it easy on him?" Tobi asked, he could understand Naruto's fear. He wouldn't be able to see if anyone was going to play some sort of trick on him. If he was around Kisame too much, Tobi knew that's exactly what would happen, and the tricks would escalate and keep escalating until one of the pranks went too far and someone got hurt. Tobi supposed it was Kisame's way of making sure the person was good enough to join their ranks. Tobi just wasn't sure that a blind Naruto could handle it, he wouldn't be able to see what was coming and Kisame could be a little aggressive. Tobi feared what that aggression would do to Naruto. It will probably frighten the kid to the point that he wouldn't come out of his room.

"He'll be okay." Itachi replied. "Just give him some company."

"You're not worried about Kisame?" Tobi asked. He knew very well that Itachi was aware of how Kisame was with new people. For someone that cared what happened to the blonde, he was acting like he didn't give a damn. Which was downright confusing to Tobi. Naruto had only stated an opinion on things, Itachi shouldn't have overreacted.

"Just keep him away from Kisame if you're that worried." Itachi said. "I shouldn't be gone that long; I can deal with any mess that he makes when I get back."

"I'm not some common house pet." Naruto said, wondering if it was what he'd said that put Itachi in such a sour mood. Naruto was only being honest, Itachi did stink of sex. Naruto hadn't thought that Itachi would want anyone to smell it on him. Why had that put him in such a bad mood? It wasn't like Naruto was trying to be nosey or anything, Itachi was old enough to be doing whatever the hell he wanted. He didn't want Itachi to leave being pissed at him, that would only leave Naruto in a bad mood.

"Nobody said you were." Deidara said. "But you can't be trusted to be on your own right now. Itachi expects you to get into some trouble while he's gone."

"Who was talking to you?" Naruto wondered. Wondering when this man had thought the conversation had included him.

"Watch it Naruto, you don't want to piss him off." Itachi warned, shooting Deidara a look that said he knew that Deidara was trying to antagonize Naruto.

"Yeah, leave me alone before you end up being a bunch of severed limbs." Deidara said and Itachi rolled his eyes. It was probably a good thing that Deidara was going with him and not staying at the compound. He could see Deidara blowing the compound up just to keep Naruto from annoying him.

"Keep in mind that he's a little kid." Itachi told Deidara. "He has some room to grow." Deidara shrugged, he didn't care how old or young Naruto was, if he made a move on Itachi he was going to regret it. Naruto sighed and lay his head back on the pillow.

"When can I leave the hospital? Nine tails has healed me already." Naruto asked, he was getting bored, not just of the arguing with Itachi but of being in one place.

"You can go now." Dr. Grey said. "If you keep in mind what I said about the internal bleeding. It can start again if you're not careful, if it does you need to get to the hospital as quickly as possible."

"Good." Naruto murmured.

"Don't you think you should take him to the compound and show him around?" Tobi asked.

"That's several days away from here." Itachi replied. "It would take precious time away from our trip to Konoha, that's time that Sasuke is left to suffer. I can't do that to him." Naruto sighed but he didn't say anything, he understood why Itachi was more concerned with his brother. Sasuke was stuck in that village, unaware that war was soon to break out.

"I'll be okay, I'm sure." Naruto told Tobi quietly. "I'll probably just find a room and stay out of the way." Tobi frowned, he didn't like the idea of Naruto isolating himself, and he wouldn't be doing it if Itachi was coming home with them.

"Maybe it's too late for your brother." Tobi said quietly. "Maybe he's already outlived his purpose."

"Not possible." Itachi said. "I would know if Sasuke wasn't alive."

"Would you really?" Naruto wondered. "Because you haven't seen him in years."

"What business is that of yours?" Itachi asked. "You could still be stuck in that shitty village yourself you know."

"I realize that." Naruto said quietly. "and I appreciate you getting me out of there. But Tobi could be right, Sasuke could be dead already." Itachi shook his head.

"Something tells me that they want him for more than just his eyes." Itachi replied. "Which means they'll keep him alive until that purpose is served."

"I hope your right." Naruto said "and I hope that they haven't managed to get their hands on his eyes. He doesn't deserve this hell. It kind of made what I done pointless if they took his eyes." Naruto frowned; he didn't like to think about Sasuke suffering.

"It's not pointless." Itachi said. "We know the sacrifices that you've made. They aren't pointless."

"Are you going to bring Sasuke back with you?" Naruto asked, hoping that Itachi would be able to get to his brother.

"It depends." Itachi replied.

"On what? You don't want your brother to suffer, do you?" Naruto asked.

"Of course not, it depends on where he is and if he's in a better position to offer information. If he is, he's going to be staying there until we attack Konoha." Itachi replied.

"And he's not going to know that you're alive until then is he?" Naruto asked.

"No." Itachi replied. "And I have my reasons for that."

"They have to be pretty damn stupid." Naruto said. "Why can't he some hope that he's going to get out of whatever situation that he's in?"

"Because the less he knows the less that can be revealed if he ends up getting tortured." Itachi replied. "Trust me when I say that the person will be held responsible for putting you guys through all the hell that you've gone through."

"I don't like it, but I guess you know what you're doing." Naruto said, sighing. He hated the idea of Sasuke having to hurt any more than was absolutely necessary. Naruto had been saved pretty quickly, so why couldn't the same be done for Sasuke?

"You don't have to like what I'm doing." Itachi said. "Your opinion is of very little importance." Naruto frowned and scowled. What the hell was going on with Itachi? Naruto seriously hoped his bad attitude was because he was worried about Sasuke.

"If you're that worried about your brother you should leave already." Naruto said. "I'll be fine. I always am." He hated being alone more than anything in the world but he'd survived being alone his entire life so it wouldn't too difficult for Naruto's journey to continue that way. Itachi scowled, he supposed Naruto was right, but despite all the irritations between the two of them, Itachi was worried about Naruto traveling with Tobi for the next week or so. They would be open to attack, and there wouldn't be any hospitals near if something were to cause Naruto to start bleeding. Itachi worried that Tobi wouldn't be able to get help in time and would be forced to turn back to the Rain Village.

"If you have any trouble, I don't care what it is." Itachi told Tobi. "You come back here and wait for me. Send me a message and let me know. Naruto's health can't be risked."

"I'm not a total idiot." Tobi replied. "Nor am I totally without defense."

"You might not be," Itachi replied. "But Naruto is until I can start training him."

"He'll be okay." Tobi said, helping Naruto sit up in the bed. "I don't think we'll have any trouble getting back to the compound."

"You never know anymore." Itachi replied. "Go without your cloak and maybe things will be alright. No one will attack you if they realize you aren't with the Akatsuki." Tobi nodded. He knew it was important to get Naruto to the compound as quickly as possible. Konoha couldn't realize that Naruto was still alive, if they did Tobi was sure that they would come after Naruto, during the battle that would ensue Tobi was sure that they would end up killing Naruto. Being blind, Naruto wouldn't be able to see it coming.

"I'll make sure everything goes well on our end." Tobi said. "You go see what you can find out from Konoha. Make them pay for whatever they've done to your brother."

"Oh, I will. They are going to pay for their many crimes but not until we're ready to attack." Itachi said. "Attacking prematurely would be downright stupid and I can't afford for anyone to think I'm stupid."

"No one in their right mind would think your stupid." Naruto said. "If anything, they'll probably be terrified of you. You were talented before you left and now your power will have grown significantly."

"The only problem is that most people believe that I died among my clan." Itachi said. "And that's the way I want it to be for the time being."

"Your just afraid of Sasuke finding out what really happened to your clan." Naruto said. "You don't want him to know what happened."

"You don't even know what happened." Itachi said. "So, I wouldn't speak of anything that you don't know about."

"You were the one that killed your clan were you not?" Naruto asked quietly. "It makes sense to me that you would disappear from the village after the deed was done." Itachi frowned, Naruto was more observant than he realized. Itachi didn't know what to think about that.

"What do you know about it?" Itachi asked.

"Just that I remember you telling me that you were going to be going on a really long mission and wouldn't be back in the village for a long time." Naruto said. "It was shortly after that that I heard about your clan slaughter; rumors were that you were among the dead. But I couldn't help but think that maybe you had something to do with it." Itachi frowned, apparently Naruto had a better memory than he realized.

"What happened to my clan was my mission." Itachi said irritably. "I was only following orders."

"I'm not judging you." Naruto said quietly. "I realize that something serious must have been happening in order for you to have acted the way that you did."

"Just keep your opinion to yourself." Itachi snapped. "I don't need you to judge me on doing what I was told." Without another word, Itachi turned and stormed out of the room, leaving even Deidara feeling confused as to why Itachi had reacted like that.

"What did I do?" Naruto asked softly, not understanding why Itachi had gotten so angry.

"You brought up his dead clan!" Deidara snapped. "He's right to be pissed at you." Deidara turned and he followed Itachi out of the room. He hoped Naruto felt guilty as hell for what he'd said to Itachi. The man was still sensitive all these years later about what happened with his family.

"Itachi is very moody." Tobi said quietly. "I don't think it was anything that you brought up that made him angry."

"Maybe you should let me go back to Konoha." Naruto suggested.

"You would be killed on sight." Tobi said. "I can't allow that to happen."

"Being dead would be better than being hated all the time." Naruto said. "it's all I've ever known though so I suppose I should be used to it."

"That's sad." Tobi said. "No one should ever be made to feel like their lives don't matter." Naruto shrugged; it was what it was. He could only hope that now he was away from the village, he could find some happiness in his life.

"I need to send a message to leader-sama." Tobi said quietly. "Will you be okay by yourself for a minute?"

"I'll be fine." Naruto said, although his mind was already whirling with ideas. It was pretty clear that Itachi didn't really want him to be in whatever group he was in, so perhaps now that Naruto was alone, he could sneak of and somehow make a life for himself.

Naruto waited until he heard Tobi's footsteps echoing down the hall before he pushed himself off the bed. Ignoring the fact that he was only in a hospital gown, Naruto placed his hand on the wall and started guiding himself down the hall. When he felt the push of the door that led to the staircase, Naruto entered it and followed the wall until he reached the first step. Where he carefully put one foot down, and then the other. Naruto wasn't entirely sure where he was going, but he knew that he wasn't going to stick around where he wasn't really wanted. Naruto was blind for Kami's sake, who the hell in their right mind would want that responsibility?

Heading outside Tobi headed to the place with the least amount of light. It wouldn't do if he got caught, he might not have been the most talented in Akatsuki, but people were still looking for him. As he pulled out a scroll, he wondered if Pain was only humoring the acceptance of Naruto into their group and was still going to extract the nine tailed demon from him, or if he would actually recognize how much Naruto had suffered because of his village. Tobi had seen the damage that Konoha had done to Naruto and wondered how they could so easily do that to a kid that would have given his life for them. Naruto hadn't deserved to be put through the things that he'd gone through, and if he was being honest, Tobi wanted to tear Konoha apart for Naruto. There was just something about the kid and he couldn't put his finger on it. He could sense that the teen wasn't as happy as he pretended to be though, and Tobi wanted the chance to Naruto smile a real smile and not one that was hiding how he was truly feeling. Tobi didn't know if that would ever happen though because Pain could be planning on extracting the demon from him, which would only end up killing Naruto in the process. Something also told Tobi that Naruto would be willing to go along with that too, because he knew the end result would still be a destroyed Konoha. Still, it bugged Tobi to think of Naruto being used like that, he deserved to experience true happiness at least once in his life.

_Pain,_

_I'm getting ready to leave the Rain village with Naruto, due to having been poisoned it's going to take longer than normal to return to the Sound Village. It's not my place to ask this, but please reconsider using Naruto in your plans. He's a kid that's been badly treated by his village, he deserves to know what true happiness is at least once in his life. Tobi _

Tobi really hoped that Pain didn't get offended at his scroll. But it was true Naruto should know what happiness is, he shouldn't have to act all the time. That had to be draining on him mentally and physically. Sighing, Tobi watched as messenger bird took off with the scroll. He hoped that Pain would try to understand where Naruto was coming from, as someone who'd been orphaned and mistreated by his own village, Pain would certainly know how Naruto felt. Which is why Tobi was playing on the heart that he knew Pain kept hidden from all.

"I guess I shouldn't leave Naruto alone too long." Tobi said thoughtfully and turned and headed back to the emergency entrance. Itachi would be pissed if something happened, he might be annoyed about the insinuations that Naruto had made about his and Deidara's relationship but Itachi cared about what happened to Naruto, he wouldn't want to see him hurt.

Walking down the hall, Tobi took the elevator, not seeing the blonde boy slip out of the stairwell. As he wandered down the hall to Naruto's room, Tobi couldn't help but wonder how Naruto would get along with the rest of the group. It was pretty clear to him that Deidara and Naruto would need to be kept separated. Kisame probably would enjoy playing pranks on Naruto since he couldn't see them coming, which would no doubt make Naruto feel about himself. Konan would likely baby him, which might not be a bad thing, Naruto needed someone to take care of him. Tobi, himself, already liked the kid so he wouldn't have any problems for him, he'd try and help Naruto out whenever it was possible. Someone was going to need to look out for Naruto, Itachi wouldn't always be there to do it.

Upon entering Naruto's room, he found that Naruto's room was absent of the blonde. Tobi stared in shock, silently hoping that Naruto was in the bathroom getting dressed, and that he hadn't just wandered off on his own. Itachi wouldn't be too pleased to know that Tobi had lost him. Itachi would probably beat Tobi, which wasn't an unusual occurrence for Tobi, except it was usually everyone but Itachi that would beat him.

"Naruto?" Tobi called out. "Please tell me your still in this room and not somewhere wandering around?" All Tobi got for his effort was a resounding silence, telling him that Naruto had disappeared.

"Itachi is going to kill Tobi." Tobi muttered as he exited the room and headed down the hall. Tobi was confused as to how Naruto had left on his own and so quickly. It wasn't like he could see anything in front of him. He sighed and started peaking his head into other rooms hoping that Naruto was trying to play a game of hide and seek, but he was disappointed, Naruto wasn't in any of the rooms. Tobi knew that finding out what was going on with his brother was of the utmost importance to Itachi, but he figured that he'd be worried about Naruto wandering blindly around a strange village as well.

Exiting the hospital, Tobi pulled out another scroll, grimacing at a loud boom of thunder. The sounds were probably pretty scary to Naruto, whose other senses would be making up for the lack of sight, that worried Tobi even more.

_Itachi,_

_I hate to inform you of this, especially since I know that you want to find out what's going on with your brother. I must admit that I went to send a note to Pain-Sama and when I returned to the room Naruto was gone. I've looked everywhere that I can think of in the hospital, he's just not here. I'm worried about him wandering blindly around the Rain village in a thunderstorm, he's probably scared and miserable. I apologize for not keeping a better eye on him, but Pain-Sama needed to know what was going on. I have the feeling that he's only playing your strings and still intends to extract the nine tails from Naruto. We both know that's going to lead to Naruto's death. I don't think that you want that to happen, so perhaps it would be better to take Naruto somewhere else before the hideout. Naruto should at least get a taste at happiness before he's thrust into our violent, destructive world. Tobi. _

Tobi tied the scroll to the bird's leg and sent him off. He was worried what Itachi would do to him when the birds reached him, but for now Tobi could only continue to search and hope that he found the kid wandering around town before Itachi could return. Itachi would probably beat him and Naruto both for distracting from his fact-finding journey for his brother.

"Why'd you run off?" Tobi wondered. "Were you worried about meeting everyone else?" The other members of the Akatsuki were intimidating when they wanted to be. That had never been Tobi's intentions, he'd wanted to be a friend to Naruto, especially after he learned what Naruto's village had done to him. No one ever deserved to be so abused by the ones that were supposed to care and protect them. It was no wonder that Naruto was do damn depressed, he'd probably never had a kind word spoken to him in his life. It was a wonder that Naruto hadn't tried to end his life before now. Tobi froze and he wondered if that's what Naruto had snuck off to do? He must have thought that Itachi didn't give a damn what happened to him, and Naruto didn't want to be a burden to anyone.

"Damn it kid." Tobi muttered. "I seriously hope that that's not what your planning on doing because Itachi's going to kill us both. He'll murder me twice if he doesn't find you, and you do something to harm yourself." Tobi muttered. Hearing the rain start to beat down harder, Tobi turned towards the window. Naruto was out there somewhere, and he was probably scared of what he was facing. Tobi wondered if there was something that he could have done to make himself seem a little friendlier to the kid. He hadn't wanted to terrify the kid into running away like this. He just hoped that Naruto would be found safe and sound.

Thanks for reading and reviewing! Liz


	12. Chapter 12

The Crow and the Butterfly

Chapter 12

Sasuke moaned in pain as he tried to shift his position, his hip cried out in pain, he could barely stand any more. But still Danzo had come in and had ordered for the straight jacket to be replaced by chakra chains that hung down from the ceiling. So Sasuke was left hanging there, the chains rubbing his wrists raw and leaving him more uncomfortable than he'd ever been. Danzo had said that this could end at any time if he just became the man's bed slave. Sasuke was disgusted by the thought and he refused, but Danzo was persistent, and he continued to ensure that Sasuke's broken hip stayed broken.

"You could have some serious medical problems because of that hip." Danzo stated calmly, watching as Sasuke's body writhed in pain. He wanted to feel the boy underneath him, wanted to feel the pleasure that the boy could squeeze from him.

"You're nothing but a pedophile." Sasuke hissed, making Danzo reach out and grip Sasuke's broken hip tightly in his hand, causing Sasuke to yelp in pain.

"It's either you do it willingly or I take you by force. I can promise you that you won't like it if I have to take it by force." Danzo stated.

"Don't lie to yourself." Sasuke replied. "You want me to resist so that you can do whatever the hell you want. You're going to fuck me whether I want you to or not, so why don't you stop pretending."

"You're right, I'm going to take you on your knees and fuck you so hard that you bleed for days. I'll keep fucking you until you admit that you want to be my lover willingly." Sasuke snorted, he didn't think it was possible to hate a man even more.

"Are you going to have me killed like you had Naruto killed?" Sasuke asked, noticing the way Danzo's eyes narrowed.

"Naruto. Outlived his purpose and deserved what he got." Danzo replied. "you're going to live to be my bed slave for a long time."

"Not willingly I'm not." Sasuke replied. "I have no desire to be in a gay relationship."

"By the time I'm done with you, if you even survive no woman will ever want you." Danzo said. "You'll bear my mark, even if I have to tattoo it on you myself."

"You're a sick and twisted piece of shit." Sasuke snarled. "Who doesn't deserve to be called a man. I'm thirteen for crying out loud, what good could come from having me beneath you?"

"You don't know the pleasure of having to force someone to do something that they don't want to do. So, by all means keep resisting, it'll that much better for me." Danzo said, as he walked over and grabbed the chains that were holding Sasuke up.

"Not here." Sasuke said, realizing that nothing he said or done was going to stop Danzo "don't do it here."

"Too bad. I'll do things how I want to." Danzo said as he unhooked the chains from the ceiling and dropped them to the floor. Sasuke whirled around, trying to follow Danzo's movements, but tracking the man when he couldn't see a thing was proving to be a little difficult.

"You're going to be mine." Danzo stated, before kicking Sasuke's broken hip, causing Sasuke to howl out in pain and collapse to the floor. Danzo bent down and forced Sasuke on his knees with his ass sticking up.

"I just have to undress you now." Danzo murmured, he was already hard at the thought of pounding inside that tight little ass.

"You're going to be a dead man!" Sasuke yelled, feeling Danzo's hands yank down his pants, Sasuke could feel the cold air hit his ass. He was dreading the moment that was coming, and he wished that he had somehow been killed on his last mission so that he could be with Itachi and his parents again.

"No one gives a damn what happens to you." Danzo stated cruelly, "everyone that cares or cared about you is dead, or they soon will be. They won't stand in the way of my cleaning Konoha."

"You're batshit crazy." Sasuke barked as he felt something poking at his backside, and he grimaced and tried to stiffen himself for the inevitable pain that he was going to be put through. His broken hip was killing him, and he wondered what kind of issues that it could cause for him. He hoped it would be something that caused death because he did not want to be used the way he was being used right now. Suddenly a sharp pain shot through him, and he felt like he was being split in half, Sasuke cried out. Danzo grunted and sighed, enjoying the feel.

"I never imagined you'd feel this good." Danzo said as he released himself inside of Sasuke a few minutes later. He pulled out and stared down at the teen, who was no longer making any noise.

"You're going to be moved to my bed chambers and that's where you're going to stay." Danzo said. "You'll be underneath me every night." Sasuke didn't say anything, he didn't know what he could say, his body was in so much pain, and he could feel the blood and semen dripping down his thigh. He really hoped that someone would figure out what was going on and save him from the hell that he was going to be going through.

"I like that look on you." Danzo said, "you look well fucked, and in total agony. I may just have to make sure that your hip stays broken for the foreseeable future." Sasuke just closed his eyes and leaned forward and placed his forehead on the cold floor. He'd never wanted to be with his family so bad, and he knew that Danzo would find any way he could to extend his pain. Sasuke hoped that the man burned in the deepest, darkest parts of hell. That was the only punishment good enough for what the man had just done to him.

Itachi sighed wearily as the partners made their way out of the Rain Village, he was worried about Naruto, and he didn't really like fighting with him and then leaving him like this. Tobi was right, Naruto was probably scared of meeting everyone else and Itachi would be lying if he didn't say that Naruto didn't have the right to be afraid, Kisame was an aggressive prankster, who wouldn't know when to not cross a line with Naruto. Kisame would take full advantage of Naruto's inability to see.

"You're worrying about the kid, again aren't you?" Deidara asked, sounding annoyed. He didn't know what was so special about this kid that Itachi's thoughts were always on him lately.

"I can't help it; he's been through hell lately. You heard what the doctor said about the poison. Naruto is a very reckless kid who doesn't give much thought to his actions. Naruto could end up getting himself hurt and then he'd be back in the hospital."

"We'll deal with that when it comes to that." Deidara said. "But don't you think that your brother deserves the same amount of attention that your giving Naruto? He was recently blinded, and he's being put through who the hell knows what."

"Sasuke does deserve my attention." Itachi said sighing. "I just can't help but worry."

"Don't worry, he's with Tobi." Deidara said. "it's not like Tobi is going to lose him or anything."

"Leaving him with Tobi is cause enough for worry." Itachi replied. "Especially since Naruto's already nervous about meeting everyone else."

"He'll fit in or he won't." Deidara said, shrugging. "I'm not worried about it."

"He deserves to be accepted somewhere." Itachi said, hearing the fluttering of bird's wings approaching. "Everyone has hated him his entire life, why shouldn't he be able to fit in?" Itachi frowned as the bird reached him and he held out an arm for the bird to land on. Itachi wondered if it was from Pain or from Tobi, neither would be good options.

"A message so soon?" Deidara grumbled. "This can't be good." He got the feeling that it was from Tobi.

"That incompetent idiot." Itachi grumbled a few short minutes later. "he's lost Naruto."

"I can go take care of your brother and you can go find the brat." Deidara said. "though I want to know how he's getting around, he can't see a damn thing."

"I don't know but I'm going to murder Tobi for losing him so quickly." Itachi said. "If I didn't know any better it was a ploy to keep me from going back to Konoha." Deidara frowned, it was almost like Itachi was talking himself out of going back to look for Naruto. Deidara didn't have any objections to that, but he knew that Itachi would later on.

"You know I think it's fine to leave the kid out there since he thinks he can get by on his own." Deidara said. "But you and I both know that your conscious is going to give you hell if you don't go back and look for him. You're right about one thing, he's probably scared of his current situation, and arguing with you and having you leave probably isn't helping his anxiety any."

"I guess you're right." Itachi said, grimacing as thundered sounded. "The storms going to frighten him even more. I should have reassured him a little more that he was going to be okay."

"Go look for him, and I'll go to Konoha and report back what I find. If you want me to still transplant the eye into him, I'll do just that." Deidara said. Itachi nodded, it was times like these that he was glad for Deidara's company. Kisame was his actual mission partner but Itachi preferred spending his time and his missions with Deidara.

"I just want to go home." Itachi said, sighing. "I'm tired of all this traveling lately. War is coming, but I wish it was over already."

"I hear that." Deidara said. "Let's hope that we can stop this mess before it spreads any further than Konoha."

"You think that whomever is responsible will try to have other nations do what they are doing?" Itachi asked.

"I think his goal is to see how far it will spread and if he can gain control through his actions so he/she can take over and rule all the nations." Deidara said. "but that's just my opinion."

"Sounds pretty damn smart to me." Itachi replied. "and it makes sense, and it absolutely sounds like something Danzo would try." He could remember the man being there with the Hokage when he was given the mission to slaughter his clan. Was it possible that he was the one that was really calling all the shots? He knew that Danzo wanted Sarutobi's job, but how in the hell he'd gotten things to turn out this way he wasn't sure.

"Don't forget that Naruto is wandering somewhere out in this storm. He's probably trying to figure out a way to kill himself." Deidara pointed out and Itachi frowned. He hadn't thought of the possibility of Naruto wanting to put an end to being used. Sneaking off to where no one could find him, was one way to ensure that he succeeded.

"I'm going to kill that kid." Itachi said, though his heart bled for the position that Naruto found himself in. He was struggling to find his place in the world, while the world told him they didn't want him and that he would be better off dead.

"Something tells me that you won't." Deidara said, still annoyed at the thought of the kid disappearing on purpose, just to drag Itachi away from their current mission. "For some strange reason, he actually means something to you. Which is why I know that you're not going to let him succeed in killing himself."

"I'm really hoping that's not what he disappeared to do." Itachi said. "He has so much more to live for and he doesn't even realize it."

"He's probably feeling pretty useless." Deidara said. "What use is a blind ninja?"

"More than you think and by the time I'm done training him, he's going to be a weapon that no one wants to mess with." Itachi replied.

"That's if Pain doesn't extract nine tails from him." Deidara pointed out.

"I'll just have to make Pain see that Naruto still has some use to him. He can help destroy Konoha for crying out loud." Itachi said. "He still has plenty of use, I just have to make him see that."

"Don't forget Sasuke in the process." Deidara said. "Your brother should come before anyone else."

"I know this." Itachi said. "But Sasuke may be in a position to help us, so it might be a good idea to leave him where he is, and he can feed us information."

"I don't agree with the idea of you not letting him know that your still alive until we attack Konoha." Deidara said. "He's probably gone through more hell thinking that you died along with your family."

"I know." Itachi said quietly. "You don't know how much I wish that I could have change things, but for now this is how it has to be."

"He's going to hate you especially once he learns that you killed his family." Deidara pointed out.

"He can't hate me anymore than I hate myself." Itachi said. "But I done what needed to be done in order to keep Konoha safe."

"Or it possible that by eliminating your clan, you were giving this Danzo the power of the Sharingan?" Deidara said quietly. "It would give him enough power to take over Konoha." Itachi paused and stared at him in horror.

"The thought has never crossed my mind." Itachi said. "You're saying my clan could have been innocent and they had me slaughter them for nothing?"

"They might have been plotting something because the idea could have been planted in your father's head." Deidara said. "I'll do a little searching and see if I can't find any records." Itachi nodded, if he had been manipulated into killing his clan. Itachi would enjoy watching the life drain from Danzo's eyes.

"I can't believe I never thought of that." Itachi said. "The Sharingan would put the Hokage under his control."

"I may have to dig up some graves to prove my theory." Deidara said.

"As long as you rebury them, I'll be okay with that." Itachi said. "They deserve to be respected. If Danzo is responsible, I'm going to teach him to fear the Sharingan."

"But first you need to go find the blind brat." Deidara said. "not that he should be your responsibility."

"Then who should be responsible?" Itachi asked. "He doesn't exactly have many people to care about him." Deidara shrugged, he didn't have the answer for that, he just didn't want Itachi to stress himself out taking care of him. Not to mention that he didn't want Naruto to come between him and Itachi. Deidara would make sure that latter didn't happen, no one would come between Deidara and the pleasure that he got from Itachi.

"Look for my brother before you do anything." Itachi said. "And send me a message as soon as you find out his condition." Deidara nodded. He knew that Itachi was really worried for Sasuke, and Deidara just hoped that he would be able to find the kid. He wouldn't put it past Danzo or whomever was in charge to suspect that someone would be coming for Sasuke and to move him from his original location. He wasn't going to tell Itachi his suspicions of course, not until he found out something conclusive.

"You know I will." Deidara said. "If it's bad enough and I deem him to be in serious danger, I'll be removing him."

"He needs to stay there, at least for now." Itachi said. "I know that you don't get it, but we need him for information."

"I thought that was what the blind brat was for?" Deidara said. "You said it yourself that he's full information."

"On getting into Konoha, undetected." Itachi replied. Sasuke may have some inside information on whom is making this mess out of Konoha, he may be able to confirm if it is Danzo or not. If he does confirm that it's Danzo, I'll be taking that man's life as repayment for all of his crimes."

"Can't blame you for that." Deidara said. "Especially if he did have anything to do with your parents and clan's deaths."

"Just promise me that you'll be careful." Itachi said. "If you get caught, you'll be executed, probably on the spot."

"I won't get caught." Deidara promised. "I'll come back to you and we can continue where we picked up earlier. You need to go find the brat before he gets himself too lost." Itachi nodded.

"I don't know what the hell he was thinking." Itachi muttered. "He should have known better than to sneak off like this."

"You said it yourself he's probably afraid of meeting everyone else, and why shouldn't he be? We are downright dangerous." Deidara said, and Itachi nodded. He couldn't help but worry about the danger that Deidara was putting himself in, but he couldn't exactly trust him to go after Naruto without doing something to the blonde boy, it didn't take a genius to know that Deidara didn't care for him.

As if thinking about it for a moment, Itachi walked over to Deidara and pulled the man's head down to his and pressed his mouth to Deidara's.

"If you don't come back to me, I'll kill you myself." Itachi promised. "I'll give you enough hell that you won't want to leave me."

"I'm coming back." Deidara promised. "Those Konoha scum can't stop me. They aren't talented enough." Itachi chuckled.

"Because I'm not there anymore." Itachi replied. "If I was you might have a little bit of trouble." Deidara chuckled and pulled away, before leaning forward and pressing his mouth to Itachi's again.

"You should go find the brat no?" Deidara said. "Save him from doing something stupid."

"If he's out to do what I think he's out to do, I just might kill him myself." Itachi muttered. "he doesn't quite know just how important a role he plays in all of this."

"He probably doesn't want to be used and who can blame him. Look what his village done to him? He might not trust anyone for a little while after that." Deidara said.

"Keep it up and your going to make me think that you actually like him." Itachi said. Deidara shot him a dark look.

"That won't ever happen. He's an annoying brat with a bad story, that's all." Deidara said. "he means nothing to me, and I'll let him die in battle if it comes to that."

"At least your honest." Itachi muttered. "I just wish you could see the kind of heart that Naruto has. Perhaps you would understand why this situation is so tragic for him."

"I don't care to know." Deidara said. "We all come from bad stories; he's just going to have to be strong enough to rise above his. If he kills himself, that will only prove that he's as weak as everyone else assumes that he is."

"I wish you didn't make so much sense sometimes." Itachi said, as he turned and started to walk back towards the Rain Village, he was maybe a day away, but he could get there quicker if he wanted too.

"I'll see you when I get back from Konoha yeah?" Deidara called over his shoulder.

"You won't be able to get rid of me." Itachi called back. "You'll get the ride of your life once this is over."

"Good, I would expect that you won't be able to walk for a month or more." Deidara called and he heard Itachi's chuckle, and it brought a boyish grin to his face. He really was crazy about the moody teenager; he couldn't imagine doing what he was doing with anyone else.

Naruto wasn't sure how, but he managed to make it outside of the hospital. As he stood there listening, he grimaced at the sound of thunder in the distance. Whatever he decided to do he needed to hurry if he didn't want to end up in a rainstorm.

He didn't know where he was going to go, but he needed to be in a place where he wouldn't be found so quickly. He didn't know much about Tobi, but he figured that it wouldn't be too hard for the other man to look for him. Naruto didn't want to be found; he didn't want to be in the position that he was in right now. He didn't want to be used to destroy his home even though his home had done their best to destroy him. He didn't understand what was going on there, but he knew that it had to be something bad, because no one was acting the way that they should have been. Perhaps Itachi knew some of what was going on, but if he did, he wasn't sharing the information with Naruto. If Naruto knew what was going on, then maybe he could do something to help cleanse Konoha of the evil that seemed to be floating down the streets.

As Naruto carefully put one foot in front of the other, with a hand outstretched to ensure that he didn't run into anything. He hoped that he could someplace to stay that would allow him to stay missing, until Naruto could get his hands on a kunai or something. He didn't want to live this life, where no one cared about him unless it was to use him for something that he had no control over. Maybe it was better that he ended his life as quickly as possible.

"Hey, kid what the hell are you doing out here in the rain?" Naruto heard someone call out to him. "Are you stupid or something?"

"No. I'm blind but not stupid." Naruto stated, frowning as he turned towards the voice.

"You can come home with me then, since it doesn't look like you're from around here." The man said.

"I'm not from around here, and I can't go back home again." Naruto said.

"You're awful young to be a rogue ninja." The man said.

"I'm not exactly rogue. My village believes me to be dead." Naruto said. "And I wouldn't mind getting out of the rain."

"Good." The man said, smirking as he took Naruto by the arm. This kid would probably fetch a good price on the slave market. He might not be able to do much physically, but he could be someone's bed slave.

"Where were you going?" The man asked quietly as he led Naruto through the streets towards his home.

"I was going to go find a place to kill myself." Naruto answered honestly. "You see I have a group of people that want to use me in the destruction of my home village, but I'm not sure that I want to destroy them."

"The same village that thinks your dead?" the man asked, and Naruto nodded. "What exactly did they do to you?"

"They sentenced me to death." Naruto said. "Legally, I hadn't done anything to warrant such an action but I assume the Hokage made up an excuse so it could look legal." Naruto supposed that he should want revenge for that considering the pain that would be causing Iruka, his most beloved person in all of Konoha, but Naruto wasn't sure that getting revenge would change anything, it certainly would change anything that he had been put through. He could only hope that his loved ones remained unscathed by whatever damage was plundering Konoha right then.

"We're here." The man said stopped outside of his home.

"I feel kind of weird coming here and not knowing who you are." Naruto said quietly.

"I'm Ichigo Montez." The man said. "I suppose I should have introduced myself earlier. I'm going to take you to the bedroom downstairs and help you get comfortable, and then I'll get you some food."

"That sounds good to me." Naruto said as his stomach growled loudly, he hadn't realized just how hungry he was. The last time he'd had anything decent to eat was yesterday.

"We're going to be going down some stairs." Ichigo instructed as he helped Naruto down the stairs, to cell that was made to look like a bedroom, it had a bed and a bathroom surrounded by jail bars. There was a chain on the bed that could be shortened to whatever length the man wanted it to be, depending on how much movement he wanted the victim to have. Ichigo walked Naruto over to the bed and helped him sit down, before he raised his hand and pinched the nerve at the base of Naruto's neck, causing the boy to fall over unconscious on the bed. While he was unconscious, the man fixed the steel collar around Naruto's neck, locking it into place. Naruto wouldn't be able to get free no matter what he tried. Ichigo smirked down at him as he reached down between Naruto's legs and gave him a squeeze. He had quite a package on him, which would only up his selling price. He was young as well, so he really wouldn't be a hard one to sell. The only problem they had was the fact that he was blind, but the way Ichigo saw it, you didn't have to have eyes to fuck someone.

Staring down at the boy on the bed, Ichigo decided that Naruto would look better without any clothes on, so he reached around Naruto, and untied the hospital gown and tossed it in the corner. The men that had contacted him about renting a body would be pleased that he had found one so quickly. All he had to do was to let them know. Ichigo kind of hoped that Naruto would wake up by then, he didn't want Naruto to miss out on all of the fun. It was too bad that Naruto didn't know that his Hokage had sent a message out to all the nearby villages to let them know to look out for him. Ichigo couldn't help but wonder what had happened to his guardian, from what he understood the other man was furiously protective over Naruto. So where was he now? Did he abandon the kid when he learned that he was going to be completely useless or was he a part of the organization that wanted to use Naruto to destroy Konoha? Naruto didn't want to be used so he ran away. Either way it worked out in Ichigo's favor; he would make a decent amount of money to pay back his debt.

Hearing a knock on the door, Ichigo smirked at the naked teenager on his bed, before turning and heading up the stairs to answer the door.

"Do you have our money?" Kai demanded, glaring at the short man in front of him. He kind of hoped that Ichigo didn't have the money, he wanted to be able to bury this piece of shit where no one could find him.

"No. But I have something that you might like better." Ichigo said quietly. "I know that your tastes run to the young and I have someone who is perfect for you." Kai frowned, and glanced over at his partner what was this man talking about?

"If you follow me, I'll show you." Ichigo said as both Kai and Leo followed the man down the stairs. He was a little surprised to see the teenager lying on the bed, slowly coming too.

"He's young and healthy, and he's ready for you to have your go at him." Ichigo said. "You can do whatever you want to him, I'll be selling him to recover your money."

"If he rides well, we'll take him and not the money." Kai said, his eyes lighting up. So, the blond was a little younger than he liked, but now would be a good time to break him in. Ichigo nodded and opened the door and allowed the two men into the cell before locking it behind them.

Kai walked over to the bed, and roughly turned Naruto over onto his stomach, before yanking Naruto's underwear down. He was already getting hard at the sight of the kid just lying there, as if waiting for him to give him the ride of a lifetime.

"I'll say this, he looks good." Kai's hands trailed over Naruto's male parts squeezing firmly. He pressed his clothed hips to Naruto's backside, groaning at the feel of him on his groin. Yes, he was going to have fun with the boy underneath him.

Upon reaching the hospital, Itachi found a nervous Tobi pacing in front of the entrance to the emergency room.

"How the hell could you lose him?" Itachi barked the moment Tobi's eyes fell on him. "How could you even turn his back on him?"

"I needed to send a message to Pain-Sama." Tobi replied. "He told me that he would be okay by himself. I didn't think he would cut and run like that."

"He was nervous about meeting everyone else." Itachi said. "He shouldn't have been left alone. Deidara seems to think that he's snuck off to kill himself to avoid being used. I don't need to tell you that Naruto plays an important role in what's going to happen. Not to mention you dragged me away from finding out what was going on with my brother."

"I'm sorry." Tobi said quietly. "I didn't realize that Naruto was feeling so uncomfortable with us."

"Of course, he was. He would be an idiot to not be uncomfortable." Itachi said, wondering if he'd be able to find Naruto by sensing his chakra. He could tell that Naruto had made it out of the hospital. Where he went, he wasn't exactly sure, but Itachi was going to follow his chakra trail and Tobi had better hope that Naruto was still alive at the end of it.

"If he's not alive, I'm going to kill you myself." Itachi barked, sounding more threatening than he felt. If he was being honest with himself, he was scared for Naruto being out there by himself. He didn't trust the Hokage to send a message that would allow other villages to kill him on sight. He wasn't going to mention that to Tobi, he was already feeling bad enough as it was. But he was going to let the man stew in his own worries for a little bit.

"Can you find his chakra trail?" Tobi asked and Itachi nodded.

"Yes, and it shouldn't take too long to find him. He better be healthy when I find him or there's going to be hell to pay." Itachi started off down the street, not caring that Tobi was following behind him. Something told him that he was going to need some extra manpower. Itachi scowled as he picked up another chakra alongside Naruto's and wondered exactly whom had found Naruto. There was something about the other chakra that Itachi didn't like, something that was dark and twisted and it made Itachi hope that he could reach Naruto before anything real serious happened.

Itachi and Tobi followed the trail to an old house that looked like it had seen better days, the pain was peeling and the wood was splintered and in need of being replaced. Itachi scowled when he felt Naruto's throbbing chakra and grimaced as he sensed that Naruto was in a good deal of pain. Without waiting for anyone to answer the door, Itachi shoved his way in and he followed Naruto's chakra to a door that led downstairs. Heading down the stairs, Itachi's ears picked up the sounds of two different men grunting and another making soft, pained whimpers. Itachi reached the bottom of the stairs to see two men buried deeply inside of Naruto, whom had tears running down his face.

"You son of a bitch." Itachi swore. "I was hoping that I wouldn't find Naruto being hurt."

"What do you care?" Ichigo asked upon spotting the masked man, and the man with long black hair. Naruto's partner had shown up at last. "He was going to kill himself anyways. He doesn't want to be used by you or your group."

"He doesn't want to be used like this either." Itachi snapped, flashing his Sharingan, as rage filled him as the men proceeded to push themselves harder on the teen. He would kill them, but first he was going to deal with the one that had set out intentionally to deceive the kind-hearted Naruto.

"How did you know about Naruto?" Itachi asked, hoping the man would confirm his fears so that Itachi could deal with him quickly. "Something tells me that you didn't just happen to find him on the streets."

"The Hokage sent out a kill order and I figured I would make a little money off of him before I killed him." Ichigo said.

"That's what I feared." Itachi hissed, before pulling out a kunai and throwing it, for it to land directly in the man's throat, leaving the man gasping as he reached up and pulled the kunai out, only to have the blood spill even more. He would die of blood loss before he could even pull his own weapon, Itachi thought darkly before turning to face the two men that was still on top of Naruto. From what Itachi could tell, Naruto was bleeding badly, and the two men didn't even care. Itachi rushed across the room, yanking the two off of him, making the frightened Naruto cry out in pain, and attempt to curl up in a fetal position. Within a few seconds, Itachi had sliced both men's throats and dropped them to the floor, kicking them both in their heads as he made his way over to the shivering Naruto.

"I'm here, Naruto." Itachi said softly, as he pulled his cloak off, and gently wrapped Naruto in it, before picking the sobbing teen up and holding him close to him. Itachi's heart ached at the pained cries that he heard coming from the boy, Itachi had been angry at Naruto for running away from them. But now as Itachi held him, his heart bled for what the boy had been put through. It would take a miracle if Naruto could ever forget the damage that had been caused that day.

"I guess it's back to the hospital for you." Itachi said quietly, as he pulled Naruto tighter to him. He didn't want Naruto to suffer anymore, he just wanted things to get better for him. Itachi was starting to wonder if that was ever going to happen or if Naruto would indeed end up taking his own life. Itachi couldn't let that happen, and not just because the Akatsuki needed him in their plans against Konoha, but because Itachi truly cared about what happened to the teenager that spent his entire life suffering.

please review! otherwise it might be a little longer when I update again. Liz


	13. Chapter 13

The Crow and the Butterfly

Chapter 13

As Itachi started forward with Naruto, a gagging sound coming from Naruto, made Itachi pause in his steps. Looking down, Itachi spotted the metal chain around his throat, connecting him to the bed.

"That son of a bitch." Itachi hissed, before turning towards Tobi.

"Break the chain than find the key, I don't have time to take it off right now." But at the hospital he would, and the man better hope that it hadn't caused Naruto any damage. As it was it probably traumatized him, and Itachi couldn't stand that thought. Naruto was not some dog to be kept on a chain, to be abused at will. Itachi wished that he'd had the time to torture them a little more, but he'd wanted to get Naruto out of that mess. So, they'd ended up getting a little more mercy than they deserved. Itachi took a step back so not to pull on the chain around his throat until Tobi snapped the chain in half.

Naruto let out a soft whine, and Itachi shifted Naruto tighter against him, he couldn't imagine how badly Naruto's body hurt right now. Itachi shook his head and wondered how the man thought that allowing Naruto to be double teamed was a good idea. He should have known that there was going to be someone looking for him, and that there would be consequences for doing what he'd done to Naruto.

"It's going to be okay, Naruto." Itachi said gently. "I'm going to get you checked over at the hospital, and then I'm going to take you the Sound." Itachi was going to spend a few days with Naruto there to make sure that he got settled in. He knew this situation was scary enough for the boy, he didn't need Kisame to be traumatizing him even further.

"Kisame is going to be taking my place on my journey to Konoha." Itachi told Tobi. "I would have liked to go to my brother myself, but Naruto needs me right now. Especially after what he just went through. HIdan and Kakazu will probably scare the shit out of him, he doesn't need that. It's going to take him some time to get adjusted to Pain as well."

"I still suspect that Pain may still end up trying to use him." Tobi said quietly. "He doesn't really care that Naruto has such a tragic past."

"Naruto's past is just about worse than Pain's." Itachi said. "I'm going to play on his sympathetic side and hopefully things will turn out better for Naruto."

"I hope so, but I have my doubts." Tobi said. "Pain's power hungry, and Naruto is a massive power source. That's probably all that Pain will see."

"We can hope that he'll take the time to get to know Naruto first." Itachi said. "All he has to do is talk to Naruto, Naruto can melt anyone's heart without even trying." That's what happened the first time that Itachi had met him.

_Itachi had just returned to the village from a long mission and was heading his way home. He'd missed his little brother something terrible this mission and he wanted nothing more than to be see him right then. As he was passing an alleyway, he heard a pained whimper and the sound of what sounded like a rib breaking. Frowning, Itachi turned down the alleyway, he'd been prepared to see a homeless man being attacked. What he really saw was two-year-old Naruto, being kicked repeatedly in the side, pained whimpers escaping the blonde's lips with each kick that he received. _

_ "__Back off!" Itachi ordered, he didn't know what this boy had done, but it couldn't have been enough to warrant the abuse that he was receiving. _

_ "__The demon needs to go back to hell where he belongs." The man snapped. "he needs to suffer for everything that he's done to this village."_

_ "__He's barely two years old." Itachi said coldly, "I don't think he's capable of causing much damage."_

_ "__He's the demon that attacked that killed my wife and friends!" the man snapped, as he turned and he kicked Naruto so hard in the throat, that Itachi heard the unmistakable sound of a neck breaking. Rage filled Itachi and he rushed forward and threw the man against the wall._

_ "__Give me one reason to not tear your throat out?" Itachi hissed, as he glanced over at the now unconscious Naruto. He was aware that the fox could mend Naruto's neck, and he really hoped that he did. _

_ "__I just gave you one." The man hissed. "He killed my wife." _

_ "__Not good enough." Itachi hissed as he withdrew his kunai and ran it across the man's throat. He didn't care what excuse the man had, Naruto was a baby and hadn't done anything to warrant being treated the way he had been. As Itachi kneeled down beside him, Itachi reached out and felt the back of Naruto's neck, he could feel the spine pulling itself back together, which meant the fox was working on healing the boy. _

_ "__I'm sorry kid." Itachi said, staring down at Naruto's tear streaked face. He had heard about the nine tails being sealed inside of an orphan; he just hadn't met the boy before now. He didn't know how Naruto was able to survive like this, knowing that everyone hated you and having no idea why they did. Hearing a moan come from the boy a few minutes later, Itachi looked down and watched Naruto's eyes open._

_"__How are you feeling?" Itachi asked as he gently touched Naruto's sides, ignoring the way that Naruto flinched away from his touch. Itachi figured that Naruto expected for Itachi to hurt him. _

_ "__My sides hurt, but they are feeling better by the second." Naruto replied. "Thank you for helping me, no one ever does that." Naruto's blue eyes filled with tears again as he struggled to get his words out in his limited toddler language._

_ "__You're going to be okay." Itachi promised, he wasn't sure how, but he knew that he was going to watch over Naruto every chance that he got, because no one deserved to get treated like this. Itachi stood up, and then bent over and gently picked the two-year-old up, careful that he didn't aggravate any of the injuries that were still healing. He was going to go to the Hokage about this situation first and see what the man wanted to be done with Naruto. Clearly, he wasn't being watched over well enough if he was out wandering the streets where he could be hurt._

_A few minutes later, Itachi appeared in front of the Hokage, the frightened Naruto immediately tried to hide his face from the old man in front of him._

_ "__It's okay, Naruto. I'm not going to hurt you." The old man said gently. Before turning his attention to Itachi._

_ "__What happened?" Sarutobi asked. _

_ "__I came across him being cornered in an alleyway and getting attacked. At one point the man broke Naruto's neck, thank Kami for the fox's healing powers otherwise, he'd probably be dead by now. Naruto's ribs were pretty badly busted too." Itachi said, noticing the way that Naruto kept hiding his face in Itachi's neck. _

_ "__What happened to the man that was doing the attacking?" Sarutobi asked, angry that anyone could harm such a small child in such a terrible way._

_ "__He's dead." Itachi replied, not even sorry about his actions. "Naruto needs to be protected. I want to be able to do it whenever I'm in the village." Sarutobi nodded._

_ "__I'll see if I can get Hatake on the job as well." Sarutobi said. Offering the small child, a smile, when Naruto peeked at him, before quickly turning and burying his face back in Itachi's neck._

_ "__He seems to have taken a liking to you." Sarutobi commented._

_ "__I think it's because he hasn't had very many kind words spoken to him." Itachi said, which made Itachi sad that the young child had been so unloved for his entire life. He wanted nothing more than to be able to show Naruto that not everyone would abuse him just because they could. _

"Earth to Itachi?" Itachi shook his head when he heard Tobi's voice interrupt his thoughts. He could remember how after that meeting; Naruto had offered him a smile that had warmed Itachi's heart. After that, Itachi was around Naruto whenever he was in the village, he stepped in many times when Naruto was being harmed by the villagers.

"I never fulfilled my promise to you." Itachi murmured as he looked down at the barely conscious Naruto in his arms. "I never showed you that you could experience true happiness, without someone trying to hurt you."

"You treated me with more kindness than anyone else did." Naruto said softly. "You and the old man helped in more ways than you can imagine."

"Which is what makes this situation so damn confusing." Itachi muttered. "He was good to you when you were a small kid, what changed for him to be acting like he is?"

"Somebody knows something that he doesn't want found out." Naruto mumbled.

"What could that possibly be?" Itachi wondered as he started up the stairs with Naruto, Tobi following behind him.

"Don't know." Naruto lied. "But I know that he was the one that issued the order for this jackass to capture me." Itachi's eyes narrowed. It was as he feared then, the man was bound and determined to make sure that Naruto was either dead or ended up in a situation where he would eventually be killed. That was not okay with Itachi, and he was going to hear about it when he returned to Konoha.

"I don't understand why he's doing this to you." Itachi said, irritated at the thought of the man wanting to end Naruto's life. The more he learned the more he wanted to burn Konoha to the ground and not stick around for the rebuild. He didn't think it was possible to despise a person more than Itachi despised Danzo right then. Even Sarutobi wasn't truly at fault, if he was somehow being controlled by Danzo. If Deidara found out that, Itachi had been manipulated into killing his clan because Danzo didn't want such a power clan in Konoha. There would be nothing to stop Itachi from sneaking into the man's room and slitting his throat. He wasn't going to be used for absolutely nothing.

"Calm down Itachi." Tobi offered quietly. "You don't know everything right now. It might not even be what your assuming."

"I don't know how it could be anything different." Itachi replied, as he walked up the street, towards the hospital. Naruto softly whining in his arms. This boy had been through more hell than Itachi had and that was saying something.

"For that man to issue an order for Naruto to be captured and killed out here. Just pisses me off even more." Itachi said told Tobi. "I remember a time when Naruto was a small child and I came upon a villager hurting him. He'd gone so far as to break Naruto's neck, but the fox was able to heal him. The Hokage was pissed off then at the man that had hurt him."

"We know that something bad is going down in Konoha right now." Tobi said. "Whatever that is, the Hokage is a part of it."

"A damn big part." Itachi said. "I've never seen someone go under such a complete personality change. I wish all our plans were in the final stages so that maybe Naruto could go back home again. Being a missing nin is not going to be good for him."

"But most people in Konoha believe him to be dead." Tobi replied. "That might prevent a problem for you both going back."

"The only thing is, I don't intend to stay." Itachi replied. "Not if my sacrifice meant absolutely nothing, and those I loved got hurt for no reason."

Reaching the hospital, Itachi took Naruto to the nearest nurse, who frowned at him.

"He was just here was he not?" she asked.

"He was, but he just went through something to no kid should ever have to." Itachi replied. "And he needs to be checked to make sure that it didn't get his internal bleeding started again. So, if you don't mind finding Dr. Grey, I would appreciate it." The nurse nodded and disappeared down the hall. Naruto whined when Itachi shifted his position so that he could hold Naruto tighter.

"I'm sorry, kid." Itachi murmured, he really wished that he could go back and torture those men the way that they deserved to be. No child should have been put through what Naruto had been put through. Itachi was sure that would only serve in making Naruto think that everyone hated him and wanted him to suffer greatly before he was either killed because he had the demon sealed in him, or he ended up killing himself.

"We shouldn't even be here right now." Itachi said, as he spotted Dr. Grey coming towards him. "Naruto should be on his way to Sound, or wherever Pain is deciding to hide out these days." They moved fairly frequently to keep the Hunter Nin's off of their trail. Itachi wouldn't be surprised if Pain didn't end up moving them to the Rain village.

"Naruto needs to be somewhere safe."

"He'll be safe soon enough." Tobi said, watching as Itachi lowered Naruto onto the gurney that Dr. Grey had brought them.

"What happened?" Dr. Grey asked.

"He was sexually assaulted, probably for several before we found him." Itachi replied. "He's bleeding pretty badly, and I didn't know if that would get the internal bleeding started again."

"I don't think something like that would." Dr. Grey replied. "It's very likely they tore him up pretty good, if they were rough with him at all."

"I would say that forcing him to take two at a time was being pretty rough." Itachi replied. "They chained him to the bed, and let those men go at him like rabbits in heat." Itachi was more than a little bitter, Naruto's first experience of sex shouldn't have been forced. He should have been allowed to discover the joy and the pleasure for himself, not the pain and the fear.

"They're dead, Itachi." Tobi reminded him, watching Itachi's eyes flash red as Naruto was taken away, his hands tightly clinched into fists. "Nothing you do is going to change that."

"That doesn't make me feel any better." Itachi growled. He was too wound up to sit down. He didn't know what he was going to do because he couldn't get those images of Naruto being chained to the bed while those two men went at him out of his head. Nothing was going to calm the rage that was building, and he wished that Deidara was there to talk him off of the edge right then.

"His first experience of sex should not have been like that." Itachi said, looking over at Tobi. "He shouldn't have been forced."

"I agree with that." Tobi said. "But there is nothing we can do about that right now, except for support him, and hope the experience doesn't make him too angry at the world."

"That's what Pain wants from him." Itachi said. "He wants Naruto to hate the world so that it would be easier to use Naruto to destroy it. Pain doesn't care about anything but his goals."

"You said it yourself though that you can play on his sympathetic side, and maybe he won't use Naruto." Tobi said. "There are other Jinchuuriki."

"He needs them all though." Itachi said. "I don't know how we can get around, not using Naruto."

"We'll figure something out." Tobi said. "Something tells me that Pain isn't exactly too keen on killing all of them. He may not show it, but he doesn't like killing any more than you do."

"I don't know." Itachi replied. "He seems pretty serious on this being the right course of action for someone that doesn't want to kill."

"He's only doing it because it's necessary, otherwise he wouldn't be killing anyone." Tobi said.

"Still," Itachi replied. "I don't like it. If he truly hated fighting, he would find a way to avoid it. Using the Jinchuuriki isn't going to accomplish anything but major destruction." Tobi shrugged.

"Sometimes it takes great destruction for something great to happen." Tobi replied.

"You're starting to sound like Pain now." Itachi said, heaving a heavy sigh as his thoughts drifted to his little brother. He sincerely hoped that Deidara was able to find him quickly. They needed to have eyes and ears in Konoha, their other spy wasn't far from being discovered. They couldn't allow that to happen, so they had to withdraw him. Sasuke could serve as their new spy if his health was good enough. If it wasn't, Itachi was going to tear the government apart with his pair hands if that's what it took. Sasuke had better be in good health, otherwise Danzo was going to wish that he'd never laid a hand on him. Itachi would make sure of that, the power-hungry man was going to regret ever decision that had made to put himself in power. When Itachi thought about it, it all made sense that Danzo would be the one behind all of this. Of course, he likely had someone else, someone very powerful, helping him. When Itachi found out who that person was it was all over. Itachi hoped that he had a grave prepared because he wasn't going to be giving him or her the chance to do it later.

"While I don't completely agree with everything that Pain is doing." Itachi said. "Some of our ideals are the same. But don't mistake that for weakness, it will end up being my greatest strength." Tobi nodded, it made sense. Neither of the shinobi really liked to fight and would try to find a way around it if possible. It was a shame that they were brought into a world that loved such violence. Tobi hoped that they would be able to see a time where there was peace everywhere. He too, was tired of all the fighting and all of the suffering that went on in the world around him. He just didn't know if they would be able to stop it using Jinchuuriki's. He was starting to believe that nothing in this world would stop the fighting, and the only thing they could do was the best they could. No one was escaping this life alive anyways.

Fifteen minutes later the sound of footsteps came towards them. Itachi looked up to find Dr. Grey standing before them

"How is he?" Itachi asked.

"He's going to be okay; he's sedated right now because he didn't want anyone but Itachi touching him. That made things a little difficult to examine him." Dr. Grey explained.

"You should have come and gotten me." Itachi said, irritated that they'd had to forcefully put Naruto to sleep in order to examine him. It bothered Itachi that Naruto didn't want anyone but Itachi to be around him, but it made sense because of the trauma that he'd just been put through.

"I couldn't do that." Dr. Grey said. "Having you there would have made things more difficult, I needed to know how much damage was caused by what those men done."

"What you done was further traumatize him." Itachi pointed out. "I could have kept him calm without the sedation if I had been there." It really irritated him that they hadn't considered the trauma that Naruto had just gone through. Being rough with Naruto wasn't going to help him in any way.

"I done what I needed in order to help him." Dr. Grey replied. "he wouldn't calm down and wait for you to come and see him." Itachi scowled, the doctor was about one complaint about Naruto from getting his ass kicked. If he didn't understand that Naruto was afraid of being away from Itachi right now, then maybe he shouldn't even be a doctor.

"Take me too him." Itachi ordered. He wanted to see what kind of damage the doctor had caused Naruto so that Itachi knew exactly how to punish the man. Dr. Grey's eyes narrowed on the seriously pissed off man in front of him. He didn't really understand why the man was so mad, when he'd done what was necessary in order to make sure that Naruto hadn't been seriously damaged.

Dr. Grey nodded and started down the hall, leaving the other two to follow behind him. When they reached Naruto's room, Naruto's quite sobs reached Itachi's ears, pissing him off even further. Itachi entered the room, to find Naruto lying on his side, tears running down his face.

"I thought he was sedated?" Itachi said as he made his way over to the bed, reaching out and gently touching Naruto's arm so that he wouldn't frighten Naruto even further.

"He is." Dr. Grey replied. "He was screaming and fighting to keep from being touched." Itachi could also see that Naruto's wrists had been cuffed to the bed, keeping him on his side. His wrists were red and irritated looking, and Itachi scowled, Dr. Grey hadn't mentioned anything about having to strap Naruto down. Itachi turned toward the doctor, he was pretty sure that the metal collar that was still around Naruto's neck, was plenty of evidence for Naruto having been acting up. He didn't want to be strapped down and Itachi couldn't blame him for that.

"Why is he strapped down? He was tied down and raped." Itachi said. "Obviously he's going to have a hard time with being tied down."

"I was trying to help him." Dr. Grey said, "and he didn't exactly want us to touch him."

"He's traumatized." Itachi said. "Handling them roughly is not the way to get things accomplished. You've probably made things worse for him." Itachi hated that Naruto had to even go through this. "I want him unstrapped now."

"That's not a good idea." Dr. Grey replied. "He'll try to escape again, and I can't allow that."

"I'm going to be here with him, and you will unstrap him." Itachi replied, his eyes narrowed on the doctor in front of him. He was seriously getting pissed off, the man was only further traumatizing Naruto and Itachi wasn't going to stand for it.

"You'll be responsible for him then if he hurts someone." Dr. Grey stated as he walked over to the bed. He didn't want to tell Itachi just how brutal the examination had been on Naruto. The kid had clawed the hell out of one of the nurses that had been trying to hold him down, which is what had forced Dr. Grey to strap him down, he wasn't going to risk his nurses being hurt. After Naruto had done that Dr. Grey had been a lot more forceful in performing the rape kit on him. The kid wasn't going to hurt the people that worked so hard to help people that had been badly hurt.

"He wouldn't hurt a fly." Itachi replied, narrowing his eyes. There was something this man wasn't saying, and he wanted to find out the truth. "So there was no need to even worry about that possibility."

"He clawed the hell out of one my nurses." Dr. Grey replied. "That's why he got strapped down."

"You should have come and got me, and this could have been avoided." Itachi said. "As it is there is something that you're not saying, but I'm going to find out, and when I do, you're not going to like the consequences."

"You can always take the little demon and get the hell out of this hospital." Dr. Grey replied. "I have the right to not treat belligerent patients."

"You don't have the right to traumatize them any further." Itachi replied. "As a doctor you should have recognized the sighs for fear and panic. You and I both know what he went through, you shouldn't have been so hard on him and everyone should have been a little more understanding. He's a child, he didn't need to be treated so roughly by grown ass adults who should have seen the signs for sexual abuse and treated him as what he was. A victim." Itachi was half a mind to remove Naruto from the hospital and find a hotel to hole up with him. Naruto wasn't in any shape to be traveling right now, and Pain would understand that.

"My boss isn't going to be happy that such a delay had to happen with Naruto's treatment." Itachi replied, as he turned back to Naruto. Itachi was absolutely furious at how Naruto had been treated.

"Do you treat ever sexual abuse victim in such a way?" Itachi asked.

"No. There's more care given to those kinds of people." Dr. Grey said and Itachi frowned. Why was this doctor insinuating that Naruto wasn't a person? He'd been pissed that Naruto's own village had left him in such a condition earlier.

"Naruto is just as much a victim as they were." Itachi said. "He didn't deserve to be put through what he went through."

"He ran away from the hospital." Dr. Grey said. "He snuck away the moment your partner's back was turned. He was probably out looking for ways to get fucked. I think perhaps he wanted this to happen so that he could keep you with him."

"That's a disgusting way of looking at things." Itachi said. "Naruto isn't that desperate for attention that he'd allow himself to be chained up like an animal and brutally raped. I don't think I want Naruto to be treated here anymore." Itachi turned towards Naruto, whose tears had stopped once he heard Itachi's voice, but Itachi could tell from the way that Naruto was trying to curl up on himself that he was very frightened of the doctor that had treated him.

"You can't undo those straps." Dr. Grey said. "Only I can."

"Then get your ass over here and do it." Itachi snarled. The doctor was sorely testing his patience. If he didn't watch out, he wasn't going to have a career to get him through the rest of his life. Itachi watched closely as Dr. Grey yanked hard on Naruto's arm, causing the boy to yelp in pain, and try to shrink away from the doctor. Only to have Dr. Grey yank on his arm again, before he undone the cuffs and yanked on Naruto's other arm to repeat the process.

"That's not how you treat any patient." Itachi snarled as he bent down and lifted the frightened Naruto into his arms. "Tobi deal with him." Itachi had seen more than enough to know the man didn't deserve to work with traumatized patients. Kami knew he probably done much worse than he had done to Naruto. Itachi wasn't going to allow that anymore.

"I'm sorry, 'tachi." Naruto moaned softly, his body aching from the hell that he'd been put through. "I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry for." Itachi said gently. "None of this is your fault. Shame on them for making you feel that way." Itachi almost wanted to leave the rain village altogether just so that Naruto wouldn't have to face anymore hatred. But Itachi also knew that Naruto needed a place where he could rest, which meant that Itachi would be finding a hotel in town so that Naruto wouldn't be left out in the open. He wouldn't be surprised if the Hokage sent more Hunters Nin's after Naruto.

"I'm the one that's sorry for you having to go through so much hell." Itachi said. "If I hadn't been so focused on everything going on in Konoha, maybe you wouldn't have felt the need to run away."

"You need to focus on finding Sasuke though." Naruto said quietly. "He doesn't deserve to suffer anymore."

"He can't know that I'm alive right now." Itachi replied. "Deidara is going to find him and report his condition back to me."

"I kind of miss him." Naruto mumbled. "He was a jackass of course, but I miss arguing with him."

"You'll get to do that again." Itachi replied. "And you'll get to be the Hokage that you always dreamed that you would become."

"I don't know how." Naruto mumbled. "I'm useless without any eyes."

"I plan on training you." Itachi replied. "And when you're finished, you're going to be pretty damn powerful. Konoha will regret what they done to you." What he didn't tell Naruto was that Naruto wouldn't be the first blind person that Itachi had trained. He'd spent months training Tobi when he'd first lost his vision. Now Tobi was one hell of a partner and Itachi was proud of how far that the man had come. Tobi was next to unstoppable when he was pissed off, and Itachi knew that the doctor was just as pissed off about what Naruto had gone through as Itachi was. There wouldn't be much of the doctor left when Tobi was finished with him.  
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As Deidara made his way towards Konoha, his mind was drifting to Itachi as it usually did more often than not. He couldn't help but worry about the other male, he knew that Itachi was worried about what was going on with Sasuke, and considering what had been done to Naruto, Deidara knew that those fears were not unfounded. He himself, was worried about the condition that he would be finding the youngest Uchiha in. They had already stolen Sasuke's eyes so really, they had no need to even keep him alive. Deidara didn't want to be the one that brought that up to Itachi. Itachi would probably lose his ever-loving mind that the thought of his little brother being murdered. Of course, Sasuke could still be alive, if this Danzo had something else planned for Sasuke. The man could be forcing Sasuke to breed with fertile women in the hopes of creating more Uchiha. Uchiha, that Danzo could control, although if he was doing that it would takes years before he could build a decent army. So Deidara didn't think that Danzo would be doing that. Of course, Danzo could also be torturing the younger Uchiha for information, on what Deidara wasn't exactly sure. Sasuke wasn't old enough to know of anything of major importance to Konoha. The likely option, which is one that Deidara really didn't like to consider was that Sasuke was already dead. He'd likely already outlived his purpose for Danzo. Danzo didn't seem like a man to keep anything past their usefulness. Just the thought of finding the lifeless Sasuke, made Deidara press himself a little harder. He didn't want to be the one to deliver that kind of news to Itachi. His lover would be heartbroken and Deidara didn't think that that was something that he could handle seeing. He wouldn't know how to help Itachi get through it. Watching him silently grieve for the family that he'd lost all those years ago, still hurt. Deidara had never had a family that loved him to begin with, he'd been sold as soon as his bloodline limit had manifested. His family hadn't wanted a freak that could do unusual things with his hands. So he'd been sold to the Stone Village where he'd been hated and mistreated for being who he was. As a small child Deidara hadn't understood why he'd been treated in such a way, and it had made him hate them with a passion, which is also why Deidara had abandoned them at the first opportunity. He wasn't going to be made to pay for something that he'd had no control over, he was better off by himself. Until Itachi, whom had already joined the Akatsuki at this point had found him, blowing buildings up and creating works of art. Deidara hadn't wanted to join the Akatsuki but there had been something about Itachi that had called to him. There was a loneliness and a sadness to the cold man that he'd met. Deidara had been interested in finding out more about the man and so he'd joined the terrorist group. Deidara didn't regret getting to know Itachi, despite the fact that they had separate partners they still managed to spend a good amount of time together. Deidara wasn't exactly sure when those feelings had turned into something more than friendship, but he was grateful because those feelings had literally saved his life. Deidara had been on the verge of blowing himself up to escape how he was feeling, but Itachi had stepped out and stopped him. Deidara would always be grateful for that. Now that Naruto was here though, he wasn't sure what to think. He had known that Itachi had had a history with the nine tails Jinchuuriki, knew that Itachi had protected the smaller boy as he grew. Now that he was a little bit older, Deidara could see that Naruto practically worshiped the ground that Itachi walked on and he wasn't too pleased with it. He didn't want Naruto to get any ideas about Itachi being in love with him. Naruto was thirteen and Itachi was 17 but still out in the wild, age differences didn't make that much of a difference and Deidara hated it. He would have to find a way to keep Itachi in his bed and not Naruto's.

"Hey, Deidara wait up!" Deidara frowned as he heard Kisame's voice call out to him, and he paused his footsteps and frowning at the shark man. What was he doing here? Itachi was supposed to join him when he found Naruto again.

"What are you doing here?" Deidara demanded. He had no problem with Kisame, he just didn't like surprises.

"I'm taking Itachi's place on this mission." Kisame replied, "he found Naruto and apparently it was a pretty bad situation and he didn't want to leave Naruto alone."

"Did he try to kill himself?" Deidara asked, he could only hope that was the case. He didn't want Naruto to be around Itachi all that much.

"Worse." Kisame replied, staring at Deidara and wondered what the older man had against Naruto.

"What could be worse than killing himself?" Deidara asked as he started jogging again. Kisame wouldn't have too much trouble keeping up with him.

"He found Naruto chained to be a bed and being gangraped." Kisame said. "He wasn't treated very well at the hospital either, which means Itachi is going to have a body to dispose of soon."

"How do you know that Naruto didn't seek out those men on purpose?" Deidara asked, even though that was a far-fetched idea to him as well. He doubted Naruto would have really went looking for that kind of trouble at his age.

"The fact that he was chained to the bed say anything to you?" Kisame asked. "Naruto didn't want it. I just wonder how he ended up with that man to begin with."

"Naruto probably trusted the man right off the bat." Deidara said. "He probably wasn't thinking that there would be people out there looking to deliberately hurt him."

"It's just a shame that he had to learn that lesson that way." Kisame said, shaking his head. He hadn't been around Naruto that much, but he liked the kid. It was a shame that Pain intended to kill him with the nine tails extraction. Naruto could have been very useful to their organization. Kisame kind of hoped that Itachi learned of Pain's plot and took Naruto somewhere where Naruto couldn't be found, at least until after they destroyed Konoha.

"Think Pain will still want to use Naruto after finding out that he's been raped?" Kisame asked curiously.

"I don't see why not." Deidara replied. "his virginity isn't going to matter in the long run. The only that matters is the nine tails, as far as I know that demon is in perfect health."

"I guess you do have a point." Kisame replied. "but it's a shame that he isn't taking into account Naruto's history, he could really be useful."

"How is any blind person useful?" Deidara asked. "he can't use hand signs, and he most certainly can't see an enemy coming. He'd be worse than useless in a battle, because someone would have to waste precious energy trying to keep him out of trouble."

"Itachi trained Tobi." Kisame pointed out. "and he's completely blind, he's hardly useless, and he doesn't have a demon sealed in him."

"Tobi is strange anyways." Deidara said. "And he has many secrets that we know nothing about. Something tells me that there is a lot more to Tobi than meets the eye."

"His secrets are none of our business." Kisame said. "I'm just saying that if Tobi can learn to defend himself in a fight, then it's always possible that Naruto can learn too."

"If he's not too stupid." Deidara said. "and there's plenty of evidence to say otherwise."

"You just don't like him because he has a history with Itachi." Kisame pointed out. "And you feel threatened by that." Deidara scowled, if he was being honest that's exactly how he was feeling. Not that he was going to let anyone know about that.

"Itachi's not going to turn his back on you because he's taking care of Naruto." Kisame said. "There's still plenty of room for you in Itachi's life, especially if Pain goes through with his plans. Something tells me that nothing Itachi tells Pain is going to change his mind about using Naruto."

"And then Itachi will take Naruto and run." Deidara said. "Because he's promised to keep Naruto safe

"In that case you can go with him, and make sure that nothing really goes down between the two of them, at least until it's safe for Naruto to go home again." Kisame said.

"I don't know if that's ever going to happen, especially with how Konoha treated Naruto there in the end." Deidara said. "And who can blame him, no one wants to be where they're not wanted or accepted." Deidara knew about Naruto's past and it made him feel sorry for the teenager but knowing what Itachi was giving up taking care of the teen, annoyed Deidara to no end. Itachi had to sacrifice his entire life for Konoha, he shouldn't have to sacrifice the rest of his life to take care of a blind kid. It would have been better if Itachi had allowed Naruto to sneak off and kill himself. Then no one would have to worry about Naruto's happiness ever again.

"What do you think is going on with Sasuke?" Kisame asked, changing the subject when he noticed how irritable Deidara was becoming.

"I'm hoping that this Danzo person hasn't decided that Sasuke has outlived his purpose." Deidara replied. "I fear that he's been killed already."

"Why would he kill Sasuke for?" Kisame wondered.

"Danzo has gotten Sasuke's eyes, so if he has no other reason to keep him alive, then why not kill him and get him out of the way. He wouldn't have to waste resources on keeping Sasuke alive." Deidara replied. "Unless he's playing some sick game of torture with him."

"I could see someone like Danzo doing that." Kisame said, "Something tells me that he's not just power hungry."

"Maybe not." Deidara said. "But if he causes Sasuke any more harm, and he's going to be a dead man. I'll enjoy watching Itachi ripping him apart."

"Your blood thirsty." Kisame muttered.

"Only because I've watched Itachi suffer over the years because of what he'd had to do to his family." Deidara said. "He's suffered greatly more than you can even imagine. So if he loses his only remaining family, how long do you think it will be before Itachi follows him into the grave?"

"You think Itachi would really go that far?" Kisame wondered. "I've always thought that you were the suicidal one."

"I think if he loses everything that he cares for in the world, there is no force strong enough to keep him from following his brother into the grave." Deidara replied grimly. Kisame frowned, Pain wouldn't want that to happen, they didn't need to lose any more people. If Itachi was lost they wouldn't be able to extract the nine tails from Naruto. Pain would end up murdering the boy out of pure rage if his plans fell through.

"How did we end up here?" Kisame wondered. "How is that the only thing we care about is the blood we spill."

"We've all got pasts." Deidara said. "Painful pasts to be sure, it's not unheard of to want revenge on the people that have hurt us."

"We've already done that." Kisame said. "Now we're hurting people that haven't done anything to us."

"Consider it preventative measures." Deidara replied. "We're not giving them the chance to hurt us."

"Does it ever make you tired?" Kisame said. "The constant traveling and the fighting?"

"Of course, it does." Deidara said. "But considering our missing Nin status it's not like we can just stop and build a home. We're always going to have people coming after us because of the bounties on our heads. I wouldn't talk like this around Pain, he might just decide that you're a loose end that he doesn't want to deal with anymore."

"Of course not." Kisame replied. "I'm not completely stupid you know. I'm just tired of continuing to lead a pointless existence where all we do is fight and kill people that had nothing to do with how we were treated."

"I get how your feeling." Deidara replied. "I'm ready for a nice retirement myself, but I don't think that guys like us are going to get it. The only way we're going to find any true peace is if we finally lose a battle and someone ends our life."

"You have a point." Kisame murmured. "Any plans for when we get to Konoha?"

"I'm going to go search for Sasuke, I'm sure that he's still in jail somewhere." Deidara said. "Or I hope he is, so that I can get the eyes transplanted into Sasuke."

"Why didn't Itachi just transplant the eyes into Naruto?" Kisame wondered. "He wouldn't have to spend so much time with Naruto."

"He offered them to Naruto." Deidara replied. "But he heard about Sasuke's eyes being stolen and refused them."

"That probably wasn't an easy sacrifice to make" Kisame said. "Kind of makes me like the kid more." Deidara snorted. He didn't think there was anything that could make him like the kid, Naruto could sacrifice his life for Sasuke and it wouldn't mean a damn thing to Deidara. Perhaps the only thing that would matter would be if Naruto ended his own life so that Itachi wouldn't have to spend his life taking care of him.

one review is not going to get me to update so its up to you if you want this next chapter


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